Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 15,862 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,659 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,862 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of VZ opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.21. The firm has a market cap of $167.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s 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, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

About Verizon Communications

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).