Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0.5%

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were up 0.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $44.94 and last traded at $44.67. Approximately 4,756,631 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 18,615,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.17 and a 200 day moving average of $40.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.05%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 99.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $250,312,000. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $193,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152,099 shares during the last quarter. 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).