Davis Investment Partners LLC Purchases 633 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Davis Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,070 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares during the period. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Three 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, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.99 on Monday. 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 has a market cap of $185.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.38.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’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 anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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).