Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.6%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $41.98 and last traded at $41.49. Approximately 3,291,823 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 18,813,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.06. The stock has a market cap of $175.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $173,325,000. 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).