Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Buys 23,432 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 267,374 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,432 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 5.7% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Triton Wealth Management PLLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,891 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 27,471 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $47.84 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.