Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.3% - Here's Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shot up 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $44.28 and last traded at $44.27. 2,402,566 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 20,066,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average is $41.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $530,576,000 after buying an additional 10,300,369 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).