Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded down 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $44.89 and last traded at $45.05. 4,818,492 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 19,488,624 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.36 and a 200-day moving average of $42.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.05%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % 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 worth $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rempart Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the period. Penbrook Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the first quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 34,871 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 6,950 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the first quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 55,625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,523,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 171,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,795,000 after buying an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).