Brokerages Set Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Target Price at $46.71

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.82.

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 5.5 %

NYSE VZ opened at $43.11 on Monday. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.68 and a 200-day moving average of $42.11. The company has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly 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 last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).