Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 0.48% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on VZ. Barclays boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $39.81. The company had a trading volume of 11,677,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,094,070. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.38. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $173,325,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527,387 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently 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).