Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Boosted by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 3,577 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 40.5% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 17,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 5,066 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 24.3% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 10.1% in the first quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC now owns 9,958 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.0% in the first quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 89,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,079,000 after buying an additional 16,823 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

VZ stock opened at $43.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.36. The company has a market cap of $183.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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. 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 previous year, the company 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given 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 yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).