Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 576,732 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,050% compared to the average volume of 50,160 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.11. 12,529,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,659,494. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.44 and its 200 day moving average is $41.18. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $30.62 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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 net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).