Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 143,987 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 3,140 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 3.1% of Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 25.8% in the first quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 12,760 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.5% in the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 13,082 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 68.4% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,802 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.35. The firm has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).