Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares dropped 0.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $41.03 and last traded at $41.06. Approximately 4,619,990 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 18,494,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $173.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.15 and its 200-day moving average is $41.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in 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).