Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.6%

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were up 0.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.36 and last traded at $45.16. Approximately 2,243,616 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 18,801,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $189.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the second quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 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).