Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 78,293 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 22% compared to the typical daily volume of 64,045 call options.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $41.35 on Thursday. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $174.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.30.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205,449 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,504,150,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

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).