Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 2.2%

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shot up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.82 and last traded at $40.57. 5,133,072 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 19,969,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $168.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.63%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 18,648 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 3,079 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 10,862 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.0% during the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,053 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 504,515 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,933,000 after purchasing an additional 6,058 shares in 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).