Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0.2%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 0.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.70 and last traded at $41.53. 2,011,341 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 18,283,182 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a market cap of $174.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Souders Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 24,273 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 4,832 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $963,000. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $537,000. Ariadne Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Finally, Orleans Capital Management Corp LA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orleans Capital Management Corp LA now owns 24,374 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).