Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.3%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $39.65 and last traded at $39.59. 1,591,977 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 19,539,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $167.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.01.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. 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).