Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA Increases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,355 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.4% of Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.92 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.22. The company has a market cap of $185.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).