Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price dropped 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $50.29 and last traded at $50.3590. Approximately 21,899,672 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 32,686,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.32.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $212.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.22.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $250,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $689,000. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 8,131 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.