Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were up 0.6% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $173.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.13 and its 200-day moving average is $40.09. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued 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 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,346,000. WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 118,806 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).