Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 539.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 150,825 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 127,256 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 173,742 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,560,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 96.6% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 26,957 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 13,247 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 12.8% during the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 20,709 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 42.2% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 720,017 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $30,212,000 after acquiring an additional 213,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE VZ traded down $0.33 on Tuesday, reaching $41.92. The stock had a trading volume of 9,798,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,551,691. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $42.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.49. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.20 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Profile

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).