NBC Securities Inc. Has $3.42 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 109,308.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,492 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 75,423 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th 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 acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, hitting $43.87. 13,134,591 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,039,622. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.24. 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 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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).