Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by First Dallas Securities Inc.

First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,471 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $41.29. 8,660,156 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,399,592. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $173.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.52.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).