Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 2.3% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $40.15 and last traded at $40.29. 44,379,728 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 96% from the average session volume of 22,670,990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $169.88 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.50.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in Verizon Communications by 169.5% in the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 234,409 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,532,000 after acquiring an additional 147,414 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.9% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 186,190 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,446,000 after acquiring an additional 25,603 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 128.4% during the 1st quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).