Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Buys 11,441 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,759 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 11,441 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 5.5% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 Monday, July 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $50.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $208.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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.