Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0.2%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $43.78 and last traded at $44.01. 2,496,703 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 18,642,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $184.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during 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 buying an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,581,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,887 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,466,446,000 after acquiring an additional 535,322 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).