Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 75.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,309 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 16,047 shares during the period. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $43.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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 research report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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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