Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $46.49, but opened at $43.24. Verizon Communications shares last traded at $42.92, with a volume of 10,146,578 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.75 and its 200 day moving average is $41.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $457,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 24,252 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $381,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).