Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded down 0.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $41.25 and last traded at $42.82. 13,469,588 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 19,717,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.85.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.06.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).