Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded up 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $41.07 and last traded at $41.02. 3,952,263 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 22,796,217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $178.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.45. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $39.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results 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 firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.38%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,516,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,629,000 after buying an additional 445,690 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Verizon Communications by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 74,476 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 25,430 shares during the period. Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $4,258,000. Michels Family Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $690,000. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $326,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).