Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded down 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $39.57 and last traded at $39.91. 3,482,853 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 24,565,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.52. The firm has a market cap of $167.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45.

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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.80%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,746 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $1,776,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2,921.2% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 26,466 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 25,590 shares in the last quarter. 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).