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

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 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 traded 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.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.82.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $189.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $42.36 and its 200 day moving average is $42.08.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 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 6.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio 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).