Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 1.3% Higher

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shot up 1.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.78 and last traded at $40.76. 2,206,885 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 18,732,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm 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%. The business's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 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, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,876 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,357,000 after buying an additional 14,090 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 43,934 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 2,629 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 46.2% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 597,822 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $19,375,000 after purchasing an additional 189,041 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 238,051 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,715,000 after purchasing an additional 22,554 shares during the period. Finally, McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 59.0% in the third quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,269 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).