Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $5.57 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,473 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,801 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 994,939 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,775,000 after acquiring an additional 77,162 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $836,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $2,255,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 188,638 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 13,103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.55 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $183.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.20 and its 200-day moving average is $43.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.65.

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).