Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.3% during trading on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $45.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.26 and last traded at $40.10. Approximately 6,543,111 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 18,324,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.97.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.51.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $42.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.87. The company has a market capitalization of $168.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.79%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

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).