Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.7%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $42.70 and last traded at $42.47. 4,497,251 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 18,269,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $1,882,164,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,581,848,000 after buying an additional 1,106,887 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,466,446,000 after buying an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).