Smith Salley Wealth Management Buys 573 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,079 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the second quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,512 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% in the second quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,053 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.1% in the second quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 83,965 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,015 shares during the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.5% in the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 7,395 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the second quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 175,487 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.60 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 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’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. Equities research analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change 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 is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Company 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).