Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 price target on the cell phone carrier's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.92% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.00. 19,329,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,178,878. The company has a market capitalization of $177.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $43.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.33. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 2,075,431 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $82,996,000 after acquiring an additional 20,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after acquiring an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. 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).