Meridian Financial LLC Has $315,000 Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Meridian Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,291 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 256 shares during the period. Meridian Financial LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $182.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

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).