Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $45.73 and last traded at $46.1230. 20,570,313 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 29,242,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.7%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $195.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.