Orographic Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Orographic Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 24,161 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise their expectations for Verizon. Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $52, while TD Cowen raised its target to $56; Verizon also received an analyst upgrade. These actions reflect confidence in the company’s earnings outlook and recent operating performance. Verizon analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s investment case is being supported by fiber expansion and emerging AI infrastructure demand. Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings announced a $1.5 billion investment in Eaton Fiber to accelerate broadband deployment, while a separate analysis cited a potential $1 billion-plus Google dark-fiber deal and data-center retrofits as possible sources of higher-margin growth beginning in the second half of 2026. Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings fiber investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon remains viewed as inexpensive relative to telecom peers, trading at a significant forward-earnings discount while offering a dividend yield above 6%. However, investors are debating whether the discount represents value or reflects limited revenue growth. Recent earnings showed an EPS beat, but revenue declined year over year and missed expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: The primary pressure on VZ is concern that SpaceX could enter the U.S. wireless market by acquiring spectrum or participating in next year’s federal auction. A direct-to-mobile satellite service with dense urban coverage could intensify competition for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, prompting a broad telecom selloff. SpaceX direct mobile threat

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Dbs Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $46.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $192.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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