Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.35. The firm has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications 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).