Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,642 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,300 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.96. The company had a trading volume of 13,542,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,080,628. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average is $42.30. The company has a market capitalization of $181.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.31%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,071.04. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).