Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.9% – Time to Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) fell 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $40.88 and last traded at $41.77. 11,054,228 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 19,845,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on VZ shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.92.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.05. The firm has a market cap of $183.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).