Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.4%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $40.26 and last traded at $40.19. 2,440,736 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 18,784,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $168.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Windle Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Windle Wealth LLC now owns 164,242 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).