Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were down 2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $49.38 and last traded at $49.50. Approximately 32,953,492 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 32,402,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.0%

The firm has a market cap of $208.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.83 and a 200 day moving average of $42.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,807,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,693,602 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $109,710,000 after purchasing an additional 647,230 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Verizon Communications by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 466,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $18,996,000 after purchasing an additional 89,826 shares during the period. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $1,056,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $88,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.