Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Holdings Boosted by Motiv8 Investments LLC

Motiv8 Investments LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,737 shares during the quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,794 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 105,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,806,000 after acquiring an additional 6,771 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 30,644 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

VZ opened at $43.68 on Monday. 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 $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.65 and its 200-day moving average is $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

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).