Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price was down 0.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $43.09 and last traded at $43.52. Approximately 3,990,152 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 18,125,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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 objective on the stock. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $3,376,000. Burney Co. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).