M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Buys 2,656 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,656 shares during the quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.8% during the first quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 4,077 shares during the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the first quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,430 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.7% during the first quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 230,651 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,462,000 after buying an additional 22,301 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the first quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 30,204 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 4,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.1% during the first quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,008 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after buying an additional 6,040 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $42.96 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $181.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).