Magnus Financial Group LLC Acquires 2,300 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,573 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 919,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $38,587,000 after purchasing an additional 21,132 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 164.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 94,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 58,657 shares during the period. Finally, Advocate Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 242,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,895,000 after purchasing an additional 11,845 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.73 and its 200 day moving average is $41.25. The company has a market cap of $184.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.62 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

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).