Marino Stram & Associates LLC Has $2.54 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,977 shares during the quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,007,000 after buying an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 12,760 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.5% in the 1st quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 13,082 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 68.4% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.61 and a 200-day moving average of $43.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

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).