Capital Investment Advisors LLC Has $29.48 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 681,188 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,539 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.1% in the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 23,052 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Presper Financial Architects LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $236,000. Northwest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the second quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,267 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 189,833 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,214,000 after buying an additional 3,643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.23 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.59 and its 200-day moving average is $43.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 is presently 63.17%.

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).