Mendel Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,306 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Mendel Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6,475.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 444,969 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $17,794,000 after acquiring an additional 438,202 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $576,000. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 178,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $42.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $178.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.15 and its 200 day moving average is $42.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Check Out Our Latest Report on VZ

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

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).

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