Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 2.2%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was up 2.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.82 and last traded at $40.57. Approximately 5,133,072 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 19,969,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $169.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).