Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.1% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price was up 0.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $45.34 and last traded at $45.00. Approximately 4,482,533 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 18,343,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2 %

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 stock has a market cap of $189.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.98 and its 200 day moving average is $42.07.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.01%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Prostatis Group LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 38,030 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,361 shares in the last quarter. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $901,000. Finally, 111 Capital acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $614,000. 62.06% of the stock is 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).