Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Verizon Communications' shares dropped by 1.1% on Wednesday, trading as low as $43.05, with a significant decline in trading volume of 81% compared to average daily volume.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Verizon, with a consensus target price of $47.65 and a majority rating the stock as "Moderate Buy."
• Verizon announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, effective November 3rd, reflecting a dividend yield of 6.4%.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) dropped 1.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $43.05 and last traded at $43.08. Approximately 3,964,301 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 21,052,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.