Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was up 1.2% during trading on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $55.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $50.46 and last traded at $50.0840. Approximately 67,254,028 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 104% from the average daily volume of 33,042,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.48.

VZ has been the subject of several other reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,807,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,693,602 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $109,710,000 after buying an additional 647,230 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Verizon Communications by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 466,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $18,996,000 after buying an additional 89,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $1,056,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.88%.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.