Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Short Interest Update

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 79,260,000 shares, a growth of 22.2% from the February 28th total of 64,880,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 24,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction 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 approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $5,985,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 8.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,309,386 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $238,378,000 after buying an additional 404,137 shares during the period. Harmony Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 29.7% in the third quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 22,932 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 5,247 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $274,052,000 after acquiring an additional 2,656,396 shares during the period. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 102,258 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.05. 5,172,954 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,624,242. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.08. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications 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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

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).