Hoese & Co LLP Raises Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Hoese & Co LLP grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 112.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,275 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,641,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $74,440,000 after purchasing an additional 313,457 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.2% in the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 92,151 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,180,000 after purchasing an additional 6,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.7% during the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 308,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,011,000 after buying an additional 37,150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.56 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.10. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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).