Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.5% - Here's What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $41.03 and last traded at $41.06. 4,619,990 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 18,494,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $173.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. River Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 16,877 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,937 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 35.1% in the third quarter. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 28,587 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 7,428 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,974,352 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $88,668,000 after buying an additional 296,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 16,023 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).

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