Emerald Advisors LLC Has $1 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,106 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,059 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 26,318 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 109,308.7% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 75,492 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 75,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sweeney & Michel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,164,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.23 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.35. The firm has a market cap of $182.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).