18,500 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Purchased by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 18,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. F&V Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC now owns 232,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,991,306 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $172,704,000 after acquiring an additional 172,500 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 60,909 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,636,000 after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 32,586 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $183.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.37. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).