Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.2% - Here's Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $42.11 and last traded at $42.68. Approximately 9,535,815 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 20,068,791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.94.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.99. The company has a market cap of $177.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is 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).

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