Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.8%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.30 and last traded at $39.21. Approximately 2,448,967 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 19,813,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $165.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50 day moving average price is $40.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.76%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).

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