Merit Financial Group LLC Has $6.44 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC has increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 16.9% during the second quarter, owning approximately 148,878 shares worth about $6.44 million.
• Verizon Communications recently reported $1.22 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and experiencing a 5.2% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69, which will be paid on November 3rd, with an annualized dividend yield of 6.3%.

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 16.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,878 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 21,522 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,794 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 105,944 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,806,000 after buying an additional 6,771 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 30,644 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.68 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 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).

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