Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 1% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $43.12 and last traded at $43.03. 7,570,753 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 19,769,178 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

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 price is $42.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.08. The company has a market cap of $178.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in 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 last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).