Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 3.6% - Time to Sell?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.11.

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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.91. The company has a market cap of $182.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $232,389,000 after purchasing an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 126.0% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,454 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 11,962 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $536,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 14.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,313,760 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $103,911,000 after purchasing an additional 299,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 26.5% during the third quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 11,495 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411 shares in the last quarter. 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).

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