Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $48.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective raised by Scotiabank from $47.50 to $48.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of VZ opened at $43.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.75. The firm has a market cap of $184.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.19%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $381,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $192,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $128,434,000. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $439,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 85.3% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 997 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).