Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded up 0.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.82 and last traded at $40.75. 3,155,256 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 20,219,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.06% 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).