Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 415,464 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,120 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 12,760 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.5% in the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 13,082 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 68.4% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average is $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Three equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).