Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Holdings Raised by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,164,822 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 21,391 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $51,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4/earnings + guidance — Verizon beat Q4 EPS estimates and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.90–$4.95, reinforcing cash flow and dividend coverage that investors prize. This underpins the stock’s recent upward move and supports dividend-focused buying. MarketBeat VZ overview
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift — Oppenheimer set a new $56 price target on VZ, suggesting upside from current levels and giving investors confidence in consensus estimates and valuation support. Oppenheimer price target
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership/enterprise traction — Coverage of Kodiak AI’s milestones highlights expanded partnerships with Verizon, signaling enterprise & network monetization opportunities beyond core wireless services. That diversification can boost long-term revenue potential. Kodiak AI partnership mention
• Neutral Sentiment: Subscriber momentum — Analysts note solid postpaid phone adds and fixed wireless subscriber growth, which improve churn and lifetime value but have yet to fully translate into stronger service revenue growth. This is constructive for ARPU stability and churn metrics. Zacks subscriber growth article
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue ceiling risk — Despite subscriber gains, analysts and company commentary expect wireless service revenues to remain roughly flat near-term, which could cap share-price upside until service revenue or margin expansion resumes. Zacks revenue outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/resilience narrative — Coverage highlighting Verizon as a high-yield, U.S.-focused defensive stock has driven demand from income-focused investors amid geopolitical volatility; this supports a higher valuation multiple relative to risk-off peers. MarketBeat dividend safe-haven piece

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $51.36 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Evercore increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.