Meyer Handelman Co. Purchases 24,106 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,135,054 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,106 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.6% of Meyer Handelman Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $49,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $2,799,000. Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $51,126,000 after acquiring an additional 63,474 shares during the period. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 25.8% in the first quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 12,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Bank of America lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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 shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $182.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis 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 63.17%.

Verizon Communications Profile

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).