Willis Investment Counsel Has $22.38 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Willis Investment Counsel decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 549,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,278 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares during the period. BCS Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,499,000. Finally, Stamos Capital Partners L.P. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. now owns 120,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after purchasing an additional 20,843 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: High dividend and income appeal: Multiple outlets note Verizon’s 5%+ forward yield and recent dividend increases, which support demand from income investors and can underpin the share price even in choppy markets. These Companies Pay 5% Dividend Yields and Are Raising Them Too (Barron’s)
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic tailwinds highlighted by MarketBeat: A recent MarketBeat piece flags Verizon’s defensive cash flow, Frontier fiber expansion, cost cuts and a $25B buyback program — factors that can support earnings growth and buyback-driven share support over time. The War Won’t Last Forever: 3 Stocks That Could Lead the Recovery (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Advertising disclosure ruling reduces legal overhang: The BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division found Verizon’s pricing disclosures adequate in a T‑Mobile challenge — a procedural win that removes a potential marketing/legal uncertainty but is unlikely to move fundamentals. NAD Finds Verizon Wireless Pricing Disclosures Adequate (GlobeNewswire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / value recognition: Zacks and other outlets continue to profile VZ as a value/dividend candidate, which keeps the stock on buy-lists for income/value investors — supportive background but not an immediate catalyst. Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Top-Ranked Value Stock (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: DBS Bank downgraded VZ from Buy/Moderate Buy to Hold and set a $52 target, citing limited near-term upside after the stock’s run — a clear near-term headwind that likely knocked shares lower today. DBS Bank Downgrades Verizon (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Recent short-term weakness: Coverage noted a recent intraday/closing pullback (≈‑1.1% on the last session), which can amplify negative momentum after the DBS downgrade. Verizon Stock Drops Despite Market Gains (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder proposals on governance, climate oversight and pay disclosure add proxy-season uncertainty — could draw activist interest or proxy advisory scrutiny, creating near-term pressure or volatility around the annual meeting. Verizon Shareholder Push Raises Questions On Governance (Yahoo Finance)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $47.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The stock has a market cap of $202.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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 Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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.