Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,181 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,946 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 9,818 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 29,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 5,253 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 18,304 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.10 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $45.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.29 and its 200-day moving average is $40.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

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).