Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price fell 0.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.57 and last traded at $39.91. 3,482,853 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 24,565,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $167.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.52.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other 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).