Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0.6% Higher

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.04 and last traded at $40.00. Approximately 3,569,562 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 19,503,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. KeyCorp upped their price target 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $168.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $40.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.17.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. Verizon Communications's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 88,532.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 79,084,569 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,115,932,000 after purchasing an additional 78,995,341 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 67,976,459 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,678,273,000 after acquiring an additional 11,987,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).