Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.6%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $38.94 and last traded at $38.97. 2,656,126 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 19,914,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.74. The firm has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 60.0% during the first quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 32,334 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,357,000 after buying an additional 12,120 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 233.2% during the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 59,536 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 41,669 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 163,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,878,000 after acquiring an additional 5,568 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,086 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 502,464 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $21,083,000 after purchasing an additional 15,825 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).