Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.8%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $39.57 and last traded at $39.77. Approximately 14,016,776 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 16,262,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $168.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of 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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).