Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $48.00 Price Target at Raymond James

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target boosted by Raymond James from $44.00 to $48.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on VZ. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

VZ opened at $44.89 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $45.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.94. The stock has a market cap of $188.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 89.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 29,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 5,253 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 167.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 33,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 21,125 shares during 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).