Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0.9% - Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares were down 0.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $40.88 and last traded at $41.77. Approximately 11,054,228 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 19,845,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Remove Ads

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $183.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after buying an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $55,783,000 after acquiring an additional 547,384 shares during 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).