Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded down 0.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $40.94 and last traded at $41.00. Approximately 12,430,351 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 24,606,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.89 and its 200-day moving average is $41.58. The company has a market capitalization of $176.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $224,000. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Finally, Waterway Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 34.9% during the third quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,819 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 3,834 shares in 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).