Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Increased by Pinion Investment Advisors LLC

Pinion Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,675 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased 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 during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.85 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $172.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).