Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Climb 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $45.32 and last traded at $45.21. 28,608,205 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 27,430,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.04 and a 200-day moving average of $46.73. The stock has a market cap of $187.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,434,000 after purchasing an additional 25,156 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.0% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,798,000 after purchasing an additional 103,046 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $287,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,580 shares in the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $1,577,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,553,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $150,461,000 after buying an additional 315,546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.