Top 5 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to James Katz’s Humankind Investments

2. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Dividend Yield as of June 28: 5.05%
Humankind Investments’ Stake Value: $4,324,000

Humankind Investments made its first purchase in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the first quarter of 2021, worth over $2.1 million. After a year, the hedge fund owned 84,886 VZ shares, valued at $4.3 million. The company accounted for 1.76% of James Katz’s portfolio.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) currently offers a quarterly dividend of $0.64 per share. The company maintains a 14-year streak of consistent dividend growth. From 2017 to 2021, the company generated $63.2 billion in free cash flow and paid $48.8 billion in dividends. The stock’s dividend yield came in at 5.05%, as of June 28. Moreover, in May, Morgan Stanley picked Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) as one of its top picks for high dividend growth, with an estimated yield of 5.3% in 2022.

As of the quarter ended in March 2022, 69 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned stakes in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), up from 63 in the previous quarter. The collective value of these stakes is over $4.12 billion. Fisher Asset Management was the company’s leading shareholder in Q1.

Weitz Investment Management mentioned Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in its Q4 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm had to say:

“After several quarters of pandemic-induced outsized growth, new broadband connection growth has slowed for U.S. cable operators. This slower growth has coincided with a renewed push by competitors like Verizon and AT&T to offer high-speed data (either via wireless connects or by building new fiber-optic networks).”