Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $43.01 and last traded at $43.25. 4,549,178 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 25,092,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.94 and its 200-day moving average is $41.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $183.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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 dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $113,950,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,528,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 31,319 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. Finally, Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $457,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).