Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $38.87 and last traded at $38.75. Approximately 8,952,265 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 22,046,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.34.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.54.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on VZ
Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4 %
The company's 50 day simple moving average is $41.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $163.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.97%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,581,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,887 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $815,636,000 after purchasing an additional 502,949 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Verizon Communications
(
Get Free Report)
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).
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