Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 2.2% – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares dropped 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $45.43 and last traded at $45.70. 25,082,372 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 28,361,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $193.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.91 and its 200 day moving average is $45.83.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after buying an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.