Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 21,727 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,356 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,727 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE VZ opened at $43.87 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $184.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).