Meyer Handelman Co. Acquires 76,083 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 76,083 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.8% of Meyer Handelman Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Meyer Handelman Co.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $50,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after buying an additional 8,695,736 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $792,937,000 after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.77. The company had a trading volume of 5,714,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,010,840. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.24. The company has a market cap of $184.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).