Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $42.85. 16,579,440 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,125,001. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $43.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.00. 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 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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.32%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,233,295. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Verizon Communications stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 61.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

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).