Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 9,045 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 27.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,569 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,045 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of VZ opened at $44.43 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.17 and a 200 day moving average of $40.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $44.47. The firm has a market cap of $187.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.10%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price target 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. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).