Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 1% Higher

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) rose 1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.35 and last traded at $40.11. Approximately 4,463,739 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 19,615,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

The business's 50-day moving average price is $40.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.63%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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 value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 174.0% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,675,000 after buying an additional 58,283 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $60,828,000 after buying an additional 113,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $567,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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).