Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.8% Following Earnings Beat

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shot up 0.8% during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $42.93 and last traded at $43.27. 13,098,402 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 20,142,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.93.

The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. DZ Bank upgraded 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 lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 16,280 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 38.1% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 107,403 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,872,000 after purchasing an additional 29,607 shares during the last quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 337.2% during the first quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 259,050 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $11,751,000 after purchasing an additional 199,800 shares during the last quarter. First Merchants Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 16.9% during the first quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 28,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holistic Planning LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the first quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 16,485 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $43.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $180.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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).