Meeder Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,487 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 17,955 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying — Investors purchased ~276,566 call options on VZ Friday (?+278% vs. typical volume), signaling short-term bullish bets or hedging ahead of catalysts. This elevated options flow can increase near-term upside trading interest.
• Positive Sentiment: Outpacing the wireless industry — Zacks highlights VZ outperforming peers over the past year thanks to 5G upgrades, network slicing and new partnerships, suggesting operational momentum that could support longer?term revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Near-term market beat — Zacks also notes VZ outpaced the broader market on Jan. 8, reflecting supportive sentiment from investors reacting to recent operational/news items. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product/IoT initiatives highlighted — Coverage on Verizon’s event perks and Industrial IoT push points to potential revenue diversification beyond consumer wireless, a positive catalyst if adoption accelerates. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: High?yield appeal — The Motley Fool recommends VZ as a top high?yield dividend stock (yield ~7%), which can attract income-focused investors, especially if rate cuts materialize. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro rate narrative — Commentary that the Fed should cut rates this year could be supportive for high?yield telecoms like VZ if realized, but this is speculative and timing/scale of cuts remain uncertain. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Job?cut chatter and dividend concerns — Social media summaries report large workforce reductions and debate over dividend sustainability ahead of earnings, raising short?term sentiment risk and questions about execution and cost structure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: New 12?month low flagged — Coverage noting VZ reached a new 12?month low raises caution for momentum investors and underscores current downside pressure for the stock. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.46 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.54 and a 200 day moving average of $41.88. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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.