Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Acquires 378 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 23,964 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 3,305 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1,025.2% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,246,329 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $53,929,000 after buying an additional 1,135,562 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 105,250 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,554,000 after buying an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 214,658 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,288,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 271,947 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,767,000 after buying an additional 3,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

VZ opened at $43.68 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.65 and its 200 day moving average is $43.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. 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 dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications 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).