Verizon Communications Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 103,148 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 66% compared to the typical volume of 62,078 call options.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,376,000. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,333,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

VZ traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $41.70. 6,255,633 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,655,482. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $175.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.50%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

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).