Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by First National Corp MA ADV

First National Corp MA ADV raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 57.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,101 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 5,503 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,904,840,000 after buying an additional 3,100,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.91 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.39. The company has a market capitalization of $185.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. 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. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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).