MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 182.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,476 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,356 shares during the quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $41.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,843,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,529,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.41. The stock has a market cap of $172.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.84 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Raymond James raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).