Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.6%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.04 and last traded at $40.00. Approximately 3,569,562 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 19,503,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight 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 $44.50.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.56 and its 200 day moving average is $38.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $170.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 174.0% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 58,283 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $60,828,000 after purchasing an additional 113,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $567,000. 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).