Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Announces Earnings Results

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE VZ traded down $0.90 on Friday, reaching $41.91. The stock had a trading volume of 23,350,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,151,175. The company has a market capitalization of $176.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.98. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,233,295. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Verizon Communications stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 61.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

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).