Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Increased to $45.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price increased by Bank of America from $41.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

VZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.89 on Thursday. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.95. The firm has a market cap of $188.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after buying an additional 37,732 shares during the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,400,000 after buying an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).