12 Best 5% Dividend Stocks To Buy According To Hedge Funds

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2. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 57

Dividend Yield as of February 5: 6.76%

An American multinational telecommunications company, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has attracted investor interest over the years due to its consistent innovation and strong cash flow. In FY24, it reported an operating cash flow of $37 billion and a free cash flow of $19.8 billion, up from $18.7 billion the previous year. Analysts are optimistic about its future, particularly following its partnership with NVIDIA to develop an AI-driven enterprise solution that enhances AI applications on its secure 5G private networks with private Mobile Edge Computing. In addition, the company is exploring other AI-driven initiatives, such as network slicing and satellite connectivity, to generate new revenue and improve its competitive position.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) recently announced its Q4 2024 earnings, reporting revenue of $35.7 billion, a 1.6% increase compared to the same quarter last year. This growth was fueled by strong customer additions in both mobile wireless and internet services. In the mobile wireless sector, the company gained 568,000 net postpaid phone subscribers, up from 449,000 in the previous year’s quarter. Revenue for this segment rose 3.1% year-over-year to reach $20 billion, marking the 18th consecutive quarter of growth.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been rewarding shareholders with growing dividends for the past 18 years, which makes it one of the best dividend stocks on our list. Its quarterly dividend comes in at $0.6775 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.76%, as of February 5.

According to Insider Monkey’s database of Q3 2024, 57 hedge funds owned investments in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), worth over $3.2 billion in total. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q3.

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