Peak Financial Management Inc. Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Peak Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,473 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the quarter. Peak Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,159.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 994 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. 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 research analyst reports. 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 target for the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.74. 15,440,277 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,527,945. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.62 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.23.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend 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).