Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Boosted by Financial Strategies Group Inc.

Financial Strategies Group Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,415 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,220 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 1.6% of Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during 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 period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,095,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $92,445,000 after buying an additional 57,583 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 102,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,592,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 579,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,035,000 after acquiring an additional 18,346 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $35.40 and a one year high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

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).