Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) fell 0.1% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $42.98 and last traded at $43.12. 5,542,964 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 22,654,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.18.

Specifically, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $181.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).