Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $48.53 and last traded at $48.5670. Approximately 21,745,463 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 31,670,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.51.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.