Argyle Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,592 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,261 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cora Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 22,101 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $833,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 138,132 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,208,000 after buying an additional 3,040 shares in the last quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 11,803 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,612 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.68. 18,246,244 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,678,804. The company has a market cap of $166.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.02% 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).