Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,942 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,850 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.8 %

VZ opened at $40.14 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.53. 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 has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.75%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

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).