4,936 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Acquired by Hill Island Financial LLC

Hill Island Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,936 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 112,592 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 42,645 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $254,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 55.6% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 52,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after buying an additional 18,779 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

VZ opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.65 and a 200-day moving average of $43.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors 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 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

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).