Early Retirement Portfolio: 5 Stocks to Live Off Dividends

3. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 57
Dividend Yield: 5.00%

An American wireless network company, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) recently collaborated with Amazon’s low earth orbit satellite network program to enhance connectivity solutions across remote areas in the U.S. Following the company’s latest strategic developments, in October, Cowen raised its price target on the stock to $71, with an Outperform rating on the shares.

Currently, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.00%. The company has been increasing its dividend for the past 17 years. In Q3, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) posted an EPS of $1.41, beating consensus by $0.04. The earnings beat led the company to raise its full-year guidance, expecting a 4% growth in its wireless network revenue.

At the end of Q3 2021, 57 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), compared with 63 in the previous quarter. These stakes hold a consolidated value of over $10.3 billion. With roughly 160 million shares, Berkshire Hathaway was the largest stakeholder of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in Q3.

Miller/Howard Investments mentioned Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in its Q1 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:

“We sold Verizon (VZ) based on concerns over how much they might spend in ongoing spectrum auctions. Management may legitimately view spending billions of dollars to expand their spectrum holdings as necessary, but we believe the payoff will be slow and will make it challenging to grow the dividend at a good pace.”