Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $50.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $45.60 and last traded at $45.39. Approximately 3,796,250 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 24,744,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.36.

VZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.9% in the third quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 9,123 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,985,000. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 234.9% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 61,702 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,771,000 after purchasing an additional 43,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $190.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results 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 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.99%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

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).