Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 2.2%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 2.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.97 and last traded at $40.56. Approximately 6,033,769 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 18,864,613 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $169.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $173,325,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).