Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded down 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $37.83 and last traded at $38.01. 4,457,499 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 21,246,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $161.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Charles Schwab Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 19,637 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,015 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 772,873 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,907,000 after purchasing an additional 22,857 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 53,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 14,206 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).