Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price rose 0% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $41.39 and last traded at $41.12. Approximately 6,653,911 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 16,298,411 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.12. The company has a market cap of $173.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,625,025 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,396,167,000 after acquiring an additional 930,367 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in 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 valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,353,817 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $686,206,000 after buying an additional 1,757,208 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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).