Meixler Investment Management Ltd. Has $481,000 Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meixler Investment Management Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 30.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,681 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,671 shares during the period. Meixler Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 340.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 736 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 24th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 24th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications to $43.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.11.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.0 %

VZ stock opened at $40.42 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.72. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.76 and a fifty-two week high of $55.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.14 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 25.80% and a net margin of 14.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 9th. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.46%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.62%.

Verizon Communications Profile

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Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.