Mackenzie Financial Corp Acquires 100,667 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 6.6%, owning 1,616,766 shares valued at $73.34 million after acquiring 100,667 shares.
• CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares at an average price of $44.10, a 47.35% decrease in his position, now holding shares worth around $441,353.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, with a dividend yield of 6.35%, scheduled for payment on August 1.

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,616,766 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 100,667 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $73,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE VZ traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $42.94. The company had a trading volume of 12,911,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,984,057. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company's fifty day moving average is $42.76 and its 200-day moving average is $42.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).