M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Takes $434,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,844 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 244.1% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $38.86. The stock had a trading volume of 23,987,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,659,684. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock's 50 day moving average is $41.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.70. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).