Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Raised to $50.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target hoisted by Oppenheimer from $48.00 to $50.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2 %

VZ traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.26. The company had a trading volume of 6,659,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,492,780. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $190.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.08.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 469,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,277,000 after purchasing an additional 19,363 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Prostatis Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 38,030 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $901,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).