Dallas, Texas 05/27/2014 (FINANCIALSTRENDS) – The stock of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has recently witnessed some significant purchases by the hedge funds. Most recently, the hedge fund owned by John Paulson started new position in the stock with purchase of 5.383 million shares of the company which accounts for 0.21% of total outstanding shares of Verizon. Paulson now holds third largest position in the stock among all the hedge funds which accounts for 2.04% of its $20 billion portfolio. Lansdowne Partners LP holds around 0.33% or 7.278 million outstanding shares of Verizon followed by Renaissance Technologies Corp. which holds 0.25% or 5.406 million outstanding shares. Hedge funds owned by Dan Loeb and Berkshire Hathaway have also taken positions in the stock over the past quarter.
Analyst Coverage:
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock recently received a coverage by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein with an “outperform” rating with a price target of $57. Among other investment analysts who have recently commented on the stock, investment analysts at Zacks reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on the stock of Verizon with a price target of $51. Equity analysts at Morgan Stanley also reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on the stock of Verizon.
The stock of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been assigned a “strong buy” rating by one equity analyst; a “buy” rating by twenty one equity analysts; and a “hold” rating by seven equity analysts. Verizon presently has a consensus rating of “buy” with an average price objective of $51.65 which suggests potential upside of nearly 4% from its previous close.
Stock Update:
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is a leading provider of voice and data services on wire-line and wireless networks. On Friday, the stock closed at $49.74, gaining 0.59% or $0.29 from its previous close. The stock traded with lower volumes of 12.05 million shares as compared to its 30 day average trading volume of 19.48 million shares.
