WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Has $10.23 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 236,417 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,527 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,641,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $74,440,000 after acquiring an additional 313,457 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 9,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $551,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. 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 posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).