Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $42.72 and last traded at $42.63. Approximately 3,547,971 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 22,441,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $224,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.8% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 22,340 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 3,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $898,000. 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).