Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1% - Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $43.47 and last traded at $43.51. 2,912,977 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 18,100,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.53.

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Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.00.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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).