Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.7% - Should You Buy?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shot up 1.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.40 and last traded at $44.36. 5,001,417 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 20,126,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.4 %

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $43.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.99. 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 market cap of $180.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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 (EPS) 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 company earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after purchasing an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after buying an additional 4,951,733 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).