Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,646 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,803 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.7% of Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527,387 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,455,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134,150 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $133,491,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,782.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,974,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $149,850,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,302,051 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $171,839,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $39.20. 17,723,334 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,129,857. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.74. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.79%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Verizon Communications 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).