Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 1.4% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Verizon shares rose 1.4% to about $50.11 in midday trading, with volume 44% below the average session level.
• Analysts raised several price targets, but the overall consensus remains “Hold”, with a target price of $50.84. Verizon recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.30 versus $1.27), although revenue declined 0.7% year over year and fell short of expectations.
• Verizon maintains an annualized dividend of $2.83 per share, yielding approximately 5.6%, while institutional investors own 62.06% of the company and CEO Kyle Malady recently sold 1,100 shares.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $50.33 and last traded at $50.11. 15,691,447 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 27,954,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc NYSE: VZ is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company's consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.

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