Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Has $5.45 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,477 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $41.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $174.94 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.63 and a 200-day moving average of $43.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 business had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 64.34%.

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).