Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 3.6% - Here's Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) traded down 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $41.17 and last traded at $41.86. 16,867,488 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 18,118,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. DZ Bank raised shares of 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. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $183.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.90.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.23%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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).