Argyle Capital Management LLC Acquires 4,095 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,554 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,095 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.69. The company has a market cap of $181.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).