Marino Stram & Associates LLC Purchases 4,977 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,977 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 85,104 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the second quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 101,051 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.8% during the second quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 143,374 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,204,000 after purchasing an additional 33,799 shares during the period. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the second quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,304 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $185.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

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).