Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.3%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $39.41 and last traded at $39.69. Approximately 2,137,821 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 19,098,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.36.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $165.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day moving average is $40.31 and its 200 day moving average is $39.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,351,680.0% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 202,767 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,572,000 after purchasing an additional 202,752 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 54,278 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 5,529 shares in the last quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,808 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winthrop Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the third quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,512 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. 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).