Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0.4% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.4% on Tuesday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $44.48 and last traded at $44.05. Approximately 7,817,529 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 17,647,593 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.87.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on VZ. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $268,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 24,252 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $192,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $128,434,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.79.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid 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 5.87%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio 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).