Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $40.15 and last traded at $40.21. 3,430,557 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 23,942,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.56. The company has a market cap of $170.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $983,445,000 after buying an additional 6,153,408 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $216,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $177,799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).