Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) rose 0.5% during trading on Thursday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $48.50 to $49.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $42.91 and last traded at $42.93. Approximately 3,852,295 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 20,059,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.70.

VZ has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,218 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,007,000 after buying an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 19.3% during the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 43,096 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,959 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.9% in the first quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 7,883 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.9% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 16,280 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 107,403 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,872,000 after buying an additional 29,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $181.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.59 and a 200-day moving average of $42.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.30%. 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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.