Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares traded down 1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $40.51 and last traded at $40.75. 6,701,371 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 18,520,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $171.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.15 and its 200 day moving average is $41.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $354,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $200,000. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 21,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 39.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the first quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 9,455 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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).