Verizon Communications Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 134,923 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 81% compared to the average volume of 74,522 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.00.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after buying an additional 10,300,369 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after buying an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.63. The stock had a trading volume of 20,156,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,246,153. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).