Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 1.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1.9% on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $40.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as low as $38.94 and last traded at $38.96. Approximately 4,172,058 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 20,071,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.70.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.21.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ziegler Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 67,895 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,200,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $201,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,695 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.5% in the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 37,785 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 40.9% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 76,215 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 22,126 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $40.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

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).