Orca Wealth Management LLC Buys 304 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Orca Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,052 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 301.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,750,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,434,572,000 after acquiring an additional 5,392,416 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.65 and its 200 day moving average is $43.35. The company has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).