Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Cut to $40.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and boosted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.69 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $166.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.52 and a 200 day moving average of $38.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in 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).