Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Raised to $47.50

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price boosted by Scotiabank from $47.00 to $47.50 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on VZ. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

VZ stock opened at $40.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.79 and a 200-day moving average of $41.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 838,292 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,571,000 after acquiring an additional 20,390 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 471,287 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $19,436,000 after purchasing an additional 24,690 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 103.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,030,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,508,000 after buying an additional 524,360 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 122,203 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,040,000 after buying an additional 8,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,852,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).