Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.1%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price dropped 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $39.61 and last traded at $39.68. Approximately 3,403,230 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 19,563,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $167.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 32,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 45,418 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 9,295 shares during the period. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 110,729 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,441,000 after purchasing an additional 3,894 shares during the period. Citizens Business Bank lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Business Bank now owns 64,677 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,633 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 439,372 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $18,436,000 after purchasing an additional 183,286 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).