Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares traded down 1.5% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $44.00 and last traded at $44.13. 16,138,741 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 27,235,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.80.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.78 and its 200 day moving average is $46.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.93, for a total transaction of $47,223.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,338,763.38. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,800 shares of company stock worth $420,145. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.1% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,743,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,794 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580,820 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,643,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972,634 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.7% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $884,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305,471 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.