Verizon Communications Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 150,820 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 103% compared to the typical volume of 74,253 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.92.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.68. 30,139,449 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,133,744. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $43.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $183.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).