Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Saturday . The company traded as high as $46.20 and last traded at $46.13, with a volume of 44982282 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 4.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.82.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given 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 yield of 5.87%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $268,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 24,252 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $381,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $192,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $128,434,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).