Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 47.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 23,078 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $184.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

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).