Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 2.9% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) dropped 2.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $48.32 and last traded at $48.3380. 28,157,159 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 27,284,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $200.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total transaction of $54,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,326,168.68. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,400 shares of company stock worth $219,142. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after acquiring an additional 31,354 shares during the period. Cornerstone Capital Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,434,000 after acquiring an additional 25,156 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $97,059,000 after buying an additional 316,854 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.0% during the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,798,000 after acquiring an additional 103,046 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $2,171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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.