HB Wealth Management LLC Purchases 3,643 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 189,833 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 3,643 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st 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 period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.95 on Wednesday. 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 $185.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.61 and a 200-day moving average of $43.36.

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, 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’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, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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).