Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 17,871,826 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 19,754,693 shares.The stock last traded at $39.00 and had previously closed at $40.49.

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 net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $166.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.44.

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).