Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. 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. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.11.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 13,098 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the period. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 124.1% in the 3rd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 37,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 20,778 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.55 on Thursday. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

About Verizon Communications

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).