Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 3.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded down 3.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $47.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as low as $38.77 and last traded at $38.96. 47,174,900 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 114% from the average session volume of 22,076,609 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.21.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,726 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Novem Group boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 20,240 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 13,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.1%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The business had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

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).