Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1%

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were down 1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $41.23 and last traded at $41.33. Approximately 2,750,914 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 18,789,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.9 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business 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 earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 7,805 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 33.9% in the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 78,385 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 19,831 shares in the last quarter. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 47.8% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,922 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.0% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 18,876 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 3,151 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).