Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Raised to $50.00

by · The Markets Daily

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Oppenheimer from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on VZ

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $45.60 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $5,985,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,309,386 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $238,378,000 after purchasing an additional 404,137 shares in the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 22,932 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 5,247 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $274,052,000 after buying an additional 2,656,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 102,258 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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).

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