Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0.8% Higher

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded up 0.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.30 and last traded at $39.21. 2,448,967 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 19,813,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $166.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.30 and a 200-day moving average of $39.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $173,325,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).