Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 1.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.80 and last traded at $45.60. Approximately 6,069,891 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 19,458,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $191.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,795 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after acquiring an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $55,783,000 after purchasing an additional 547,384 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently 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).