Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

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).