Mainsail Financial Group LLC Buys 324 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mainsail Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,184 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the quarter. Mainsail Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

VZ opened at $43.23 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.59 and its 200-day moving average is $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $182.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).