Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 83,965 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,015 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $183.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’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. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, 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 target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).