Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.2%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $44.95 and last traded at $45.12. 3,221,537 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 18,766,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Raymond James increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $189.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued 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 yield of 6.03%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 15,958 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $207,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 101.3% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 126,253 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,207,000 after purchasing an additional 63,539 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 267,777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,043,000 after buying an additional 3,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $893,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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).