Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Mengis Capital Management Inc.

Mengis Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,724 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company’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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. 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 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.63.

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).