Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 8,757 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,247 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 8,757 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.07. The company has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).