Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) fell 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $41.23 and last traded at $41.33. 2,750,914 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 18,789,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $173.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management raised its position in Verizon Communications by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).