Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Verizon's shares declined by 1.1% on Thursday, trading as low as $40.73, and the total trading volume surged to 34.7 million shares, up 63% from the average.
• Brokerages have adjusted their price targets for Verizon, with Wells Fargo increasing its target to $43.00 and Royal Bank of Canada to $46.00, while the consensus target price is set at $47.63.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69, yielding 6.8%, with the payout ratio at 64.34%.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $40.73 and last traded at $40.85. 34,719,391 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 63% from the average session volume of 21,329,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a market cap of $172.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,114,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $1,677,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the first quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 38,048 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,726,000 after buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 272.0% during the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 23,446 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 17,143 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).

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