Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.1% - What's Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) fell 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $43.19 and last traded at $43.25. 4,236,941 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 19,985,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.26. 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 $181.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. 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).