Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.4%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $39.95 and last traded at $39.94. Approximately 2,677,198 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 19,477,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $40.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.02.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued 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 6.59%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 99.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Third Point LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $173,325,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,151,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527,387 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by 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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.