Morningstar Investment Management LLC Buys 53,137 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Morningstar Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 34.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 207,578 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,137 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.8% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 12,760 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.5% in the 1st quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 13,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 68.4% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.21. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $167.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

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).