Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1.4% After Insider Selling

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.4% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $39.16 and last traded at $39.72. 9,838,446 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 24,620,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.28.

Specifically, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $165.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $815,636,000 after purchasing an additional 502,949 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,493,998 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $561,105,000 after purchasing an additional 46,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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).