Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price rose 1.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $49.60 and last traded at $49.2820. Approximately 17,779,753 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 28,425,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $205.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 31,197 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 31.9% during the second quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 19,048 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,416,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the second quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 309,197 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,091,000 after buying an additional 8,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,151,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.