Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.1% After Insider Selling

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $42.98 and last traded at $43.12. Approximately 5,542,964 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 22,654,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.18.

Specifically, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.69. The firm has a market cap of $180.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).