Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $7.42 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,588 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,763 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 124,094 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $251,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 9,123 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the third quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 55,480 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

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).