Capital Investment Counsel Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,169 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,247 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,091,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $43.30. 12,610,828 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,787,609. The company has a market cap of $182.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).