Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0.3% Higher

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded up 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.47 and last traded at $40.25. 4,930,878 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 19,515,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in 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 buying an additional 413,869 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the period. GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $306,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).