Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) PT Lowered to $40.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the cell phone carrier's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.79% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.69. The stock had a trading volume of 25,970,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,270,385. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $166.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $21,137,000 after acquiring an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $306,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).