Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 1.9% Higher – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded up 1.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $45.21 and last traded at $45.02. 5,939,658 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 18,333,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,862,441,000 after buying an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).