Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.77 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,247 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 8,757 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,450,058 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $417,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,478 shares during the period. Boston Research & Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. now owns 106,500 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,258,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 69,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 20,214 shares during the period. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 108,751 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 5,061,647 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $202,415,000 after buying an additional 78,464 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.38. 15,707,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,545,393. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.08.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.97%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% 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).