Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 2.2%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 2.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.82 and last traded at $40.57. Approximately 5,133,072 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 19,969,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased 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 stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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).