Investors Buy Large Volume of Verizon Communications Call Options (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 76,250 call options on the company. This is an increase of 19% compared to the average volume of 63,845 call options.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $46.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $195.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.88. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,231 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 11,896 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.1% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 43,328 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $1,866,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).