Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.3%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price was down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $39.10 and last traded at $39.20. Approximately 2,257,257 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 19,647,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. 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 report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $166.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.01.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.74%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $173,325,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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).