Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,250 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,542 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted 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 buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. 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 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.68 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s 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. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

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).