Kelleher Financial Advisors Has $1.59 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Kelleher Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 43.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,493 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,403 shares during the period. Kelleher Financial Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $49.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $205.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

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.