Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price fell 1.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $48.53 and last traded at $48.5670. 21,745,463 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 31,670,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.51. The firm has a market cap of $204.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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.