Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.6%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $41.99 and last traded at $41.77. 3,527,247 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 20,075,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the third quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $21,137,000 after acquiring an additional 413,869 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the period. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $306,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 183,615 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,951,000 after acquiring an additional 35,675 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).