Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.6%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $38.94 and last traded at $38.97. 2,656,126 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 19,914,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James raised 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. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

The company's fifty day moving average is $40.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.74. 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 company has a market cap of $163.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The business's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew 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 buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).