Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $43.62 and last traded at $43.89. 3,849,933 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 18,292,329 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $184.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.01.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in 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 buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,937,000 after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).