Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 2.2%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares traded up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.82 and last traded at $40.57. 5,133,072 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 19,969,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).