Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.4% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares were down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $43.44 and last traded at $43.42. Approximately 5,486,511 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 25,487,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.92.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $179.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.99.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, 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 sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 308,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,011,000 after purchasing an additional 37,150 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 46,270 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,478 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 21,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,463 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670 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).