Argent Advisors Inc. Buys 8,699 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Argent Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,043 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 8,699 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.4% of Argent Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Argent Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 6,475.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 444,969 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $17,794,000 after acquiring an additional 438,202 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $576,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $3,457,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

VZ opened at $42.32 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.15 and its 200-day moving average is $42.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $178.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).

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