Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1.5% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $42.30 and last traded at $42.97. Approximately 6,553,433 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 20,109,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $181.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.98.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.30%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors 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).