Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 3.2% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price dropped 3.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $49.33 and last traded at $49.8280. Approximately 24,198,201 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 27,338,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $207.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.43 and its 200 day moving average is $47.54.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total value of $54,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,566 shares in the company, valued at $5,326,168.68. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,400 shares of company stock valued at $219,142. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after buying an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after buying an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $217,125,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.