Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.5%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 0.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $44.28 and last traded at $44.18. 5,083,771 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 18,671,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp reduced 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.75.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $864,000 after acquiring an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 29,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 177.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 172,358 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,418,000 after purchasing an additional 110,337 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).