Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0% – Time to Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price fell 0% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $40.44 and last traded at $40.46. 3,230,916 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 18,543,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 14.4% during the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,186 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $264,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 78.3% during the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 11,572 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 5,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).