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

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 212,181 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 5,946 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after purchasing an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,739,000 after buying an additional 104,447 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $185.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis 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 (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Company 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).