Gateway Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,763 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $44.91 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $189.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).