AlphaQuest LLC Raises Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,614 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,148 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.3840 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 cap of $187.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

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).