Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.2% – Time to Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded up 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $43.73 and last traded at $43.67. 3,795,132 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 18,343,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $182.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.02.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.26%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,781,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 25,699 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 6,273 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the third quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 27,604 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 51,960 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concentric Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,730 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).