<div id="readability-page-1"><p>ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of  Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission. The fund owned 382,604 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 38,983 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $16,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Verizon Communications</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>AST SpaceMobile Gears Up for Its BlueBird 6 Launch Next Week</li></ul><p>Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in  Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the first 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.  Cadinha &amp; Co. LLC increased its holdings in  Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cadinha &amp; Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,046,000 after buying an additional 336,190 shares during the period.  DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of  Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $309,551,000 after buying an additional 722,559 shares in the last quarter.  Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of  Verizon Communications by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 205,416 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,888,000 after buying an additional 39,445 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of  Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,904,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  62.06% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Verizon Communications Price Performance</h2><p>Shares of VZ opened at $40.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $171.59 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.20. </p><ul><li>Dividend Growth Is Heating Up: 3 Stocks With Steady Payout Gains</li></ul><p>Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis.  Analysts anticipate that  Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Verizon Communications Announces Dividend</h2><p>The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%. </p><h2>Analysts Set New Price Targets</h2><ul><li>Here's What We Learned From AST SpaceMobile's Q3 Earnings Report</li></ul><p>VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a &#34;sector perform&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a &#34;sector perform&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned  a Buy rating and twelve have assigned  a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus price target of $47.31.</p><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications</b></p><h2>About Verizon Communications</h2> (Free Report)<p>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).</p><h2>Recommended Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Verizon Communications</li><li>What Is WallStreetBets and What Stocks Are They Targeting?</li><li>AI Chips Can’t Exist Without These 2 Underrated Tech Giants</li><li>Trading Stocks: RSI and Why it's Useful</li><li>Why Taiwan Semiconductor's 6.5% Dip Could Be a Smart Buy</li><li>What is a Death Cross in Stocks?</li><li>RTX Surges to Record Highs as Defense Orders Explode</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVZa?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVZa"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Verizon Communications Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Verizon Communications, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verizon Communications wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Verizon Communications currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, acquiring an additional 38,983 shares, now holding 382,604 shares valued at $16,815,000. Other institutional investors also adjusted their positions in Verizon. The company's stock opened at $40.70 with a market cap of $171.59 billion. Verizon reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share.</p>

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Buys 38,983 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ