Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,431,644 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,666 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $62,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position 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 buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. Barclays initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.55.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, Frontier deal and $25B buyback — Verizon reported better-than-expected Q4 results and framed the Frontier transaction as a way to cut costs; management also announced a sizable share-repurchase plan that boosts cash-return prospects and EPS leverage. Verizon Resets Story With Frontier Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target increases — Multiple firms raised targets (Evercore to $50, Scotiabank to $50.25, Morgan Stanley to $49), signaling renewed street confidence and potential upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage Scotiabank note
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raise — Verizon increased its quarterly payout to $0.7075 (annualized yield ~6.4%), reinforcing its income-appeal to dividend-focused investors and supporting valuation multiples for yield-sensitive buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to earnings — Coverage notes VZ’s post-earnings rally and significant stock moves after the beat, which is attracting momentum and heightened trading interest. AAII: Why VZ is up
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options volume — Elevated options activity indicates speculative positioning or hedging around catalysts (earnings, buyback, Frontier deal). This can amplify intraday moves but is ambiguous for direction. Options volume report
• Neutral Sentiment: Former CEO Hans Vestberg joins Digi Power X as advisor — Not a direct operational development for Verizon but notable given his role in Verizon’s 5G rollout; mostly peripheral to VZ fundamentals. Vestberg to Digi Power X
• Negative Sentiment: Customer losses tied to pricing — Multiple reports and commentary highlight management’s admission that price hikes cost the company millions of customers, a risk to long-term subscriber growth and ARPU sustainability. USAToday: Price hikes lost customers Fool: Pricing lost customers
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/strategist caution on buybacks — Some commentary argues buybacks alone aren’t enough to fix competitive or growth issues, warning investors not to overvalue EPS-lift without sustainable revenue improvement. Seeking Alpha: Needs more than buyback

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.73 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $188.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 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.