Miramar Capital LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 452,867 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,009 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 4.4% of Miramar Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Miramar Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 6,365 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the second quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 51,036 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Finally, EPG Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.04 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $50.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

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.