GenWealth Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

GenWealth Group Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 73.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,731 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the period. GenWealth Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 861,988 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,712,000 after acquiring an additional 23,696 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 1,179 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,682 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 155.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 19,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 11,889 shares during the period. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 431,796 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $19,392,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.23 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.62 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market cap of $181.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.23.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

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).