Magnus Financial Group LLC Has $430,000 Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

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

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.73 and a 200-day moving average of $41.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.62 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).