KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $88.14 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,037,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $88,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st 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 period. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $174.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.33.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

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).