Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.5% - What's Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $42.92 and last traded at $42.88. Approximately 6,578,131 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 20,080,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. 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. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $43.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.33%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,845 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $231,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 9.0% during the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 153,132 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 12,604 shares during the last quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.6% during the second quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,300 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 14,419 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently 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).