Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.6%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $41.98 and last traded at $41.49. 3,291,823 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 18,813,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $175.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.06.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,479,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. 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).