Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,933,697 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 172,631 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $97,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Triton Wealth Management PLLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.83. The company has a market capitalization of $193.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon was a major winner in the FCC’s first spectrum auction in four years, bidding about $3.2 billion for mid-band wireless licenses. The added spectrum could improve network capacity and long-term service quality, which is constructive for Verizon’s growth outlook. Reuters article on Verizon spectrum bids
• Positive Sentiment: Array Digital Infrastructure completed the sale of a portion of its spectrum license to Verizon for $1.0 billion, reinforcing Verizon’s willingness to invest in strategic wireless assets and expand its spectrum position. Yahoo Finance article on Array Digital Infrastructure sale to Verizon
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and fair-value revisions were mixed but slightly constructive, with one report saying Verizon’s estimated fair value edged higher after revisions. That suggests the market still sees value in the stock despite near-term uncertainties. Yahoo Finance article on Verizon fair value
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon confirmed it will report second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 24, keeping attention on subscriber trends, wireless pricing, and capital spending plans. GlobeNewswire earnings date announcement
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX reportedly plans a Starlink mobile service for U.S. consumers and may eventually build its own mobile network, which could intensify competition for Verizon in wireless connectivity and pressure future growth expectations. FT report on SpaceX Starlink mobile service

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.