Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0% Following Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares rose 0% during mid-day trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $45.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.13 and last traded at $39.94. Approximately 4,003,263 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 18,433,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.93.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.51.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,548,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 worth $4,289,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,581,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,887 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after acquiring an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after acquiring an additional 565,842 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.88. The company has a market capitalization of $168.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).