Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0% Higher

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares were up 0% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.26 and last traded at $40.18. Approximately 2,765,695 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 19,568,631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $166.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the third quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $21,137,000 after purchasing an additional 413,869 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares during the period. GFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $306,000. 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).