Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by BSW Wealth Partners

BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,593 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.84 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $184.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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).