Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC Purchases 12,121 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,084 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 12,121 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.77. The company had a trading volume of 25,452,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,105,430. The stock has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus raised 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 issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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).