HCR Wealth Advisors Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

HCR Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,827 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.3% during the first quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,059 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 26,318 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 109,308.7% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 75,492 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,424,000 after buying an additional 75,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sweeney & Michel LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,164,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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 downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Finally, 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. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

VZ stock opened at $43.23 on Tuesday. The stock 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).