Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 12,765 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,765 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,643,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,634 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 3,246 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 152,597 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 316,689 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,898,000 after purchasing an additional 20,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 133.8% in the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 3,358 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.09.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is moving to sell 274 company-owned retail stores to franchisees and cut roughly 3,000 jobs, a restructuring that could lower operating costs and improve margins over time. Reuters: Verizon to shed 274 stores, lay off another 500 corporate employees
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction has been favorable to the cost-reset story, with articles noting VZ rose as investors responded to the store shakeup and expense reduction plans. Yahoo Finance: VZ Stock Rises — Verizon Moves To Slash Costs With Major Store Shakeup
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 earnings estimate for Verizon and kept a Hold rating, suggesting only modest near-term earnings improvement. MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is expected to report earnings on Friday, which keeps investors focused on whether the restructuring and broadband growth can offset slower revenue trends. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (VZ) to Post Earnings on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are cautioning that Verizon already trades at a premium relative to peers, which could limit upside if earnings growth disappoints. Trefis: VZ Earns Its Premium Over Peers. Now What?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank also lowered its price target to $51.50, reflecting some skepticism about the pace of Verizon’s improvement. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Lowered to $51.50 at Scotiabank

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1%

VZ opened at $43.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.