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

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0.3% on Wednesday . The stock 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 Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $185.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.96.

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 analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,500 shares of company stock valued at $979,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,954,357 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $222,500,000 after buying an additional 129,171 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 77,796 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 17,393 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,000. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 230.4% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 61,089 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 42,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).

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.