Mackenzie Financial Corp Has $47.73 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,265,963 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,502 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $47,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,675,000 after purchasing an additional 58,283 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $567,000. Finally, Wsfs Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 26.7% during the first quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.16. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $167.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).