Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) PT Lowered to $40.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

VZ has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Verizon Communications from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.68 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.51. The company has a market cap of $166.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ziegler Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 67,895 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,241 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $201,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.5% in the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 37,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 40.9% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 76,215 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after acquiring an additional 22,126 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).