Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.3%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.78 and last traded at $40.76. Approximately 2,206,885 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 18,732,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake 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 buying an additional 258 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).