Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.1%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price fell 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $40.69 and last traded at $40.83. 2,804,515 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 18,697,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is 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).