Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Now Covered by Analysts at Bank of America

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

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on VZ. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.65. The stock had a trading volume of 23,445,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,156,752. The firm's fifty day moving average is $43.21 and its 200 day moving average is $42.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. 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 $179.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.35%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).