Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $45.00 price target on the cell phone carrier's stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.7%

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $42.80. 21,991,049 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,139,095. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $43.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 4,360 shares in the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management increased its position in Verizon Communications by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 5,099 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Argentarii LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,921.2% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 26,466 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 25,590 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by 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).