Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Lifted by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 230,106 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 18,959 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $1,781,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 25,699 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 6,273 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 27,604 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 2,843 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 51,960 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after buying an additional 3,311 shares during the period. Finally, Concentric Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,730 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.63 and a 200-day moving average of $42.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).