Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 2.3% - Still a Buy?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $43.35 and last traded at $43.33. 3,426,721 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 20,103,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $182.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $43.64 and its 200-day moving average is $42.00.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated 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 $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,083,337,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $661,720,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares during 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).

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