Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $40.90 and last traded at $41.29. 9,103,868 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 18,392,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 17,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 2,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 10,077 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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).