Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price fell 1.9% during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $40.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as low as $38.94 and last traded at $38.96. 4,172,058 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 20,071,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.70.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 77,119 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,236,000 after buying an additional 2,244 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 25,991 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,091,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Capasso Planning Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $237,000. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 160,755 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,745,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 3,953 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.44. The company has a market capitalization of $165.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

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).