Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Acquires 268 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,296 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after purchasing an additional 431,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,342 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0%

VZ stock opened at $41.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.60 and a 200 day moving average of $43.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders 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 represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

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).