Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0.7% - Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares traded down 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $43.21 and last traded at $43.44. 2,459,777 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 23,721,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

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 market cap of $182.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.13.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $16,700,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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).