Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Has $373,000 Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.17. The company has a market cap of $170.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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%.Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.34%.

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).