Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Key Points

• Vise Technologies increased its Verizon stake by 5.9% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 446,924 shares valued at approximately $20.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Analysts remain mixed, with 13 Buy ratings and 16 Hold ratings; Verizon’s consensus rating is Hold with a price target of $51.05 after several firms reduced their targets.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, beating estimates, while revenue increased 1.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7075, equivalent to a 6.3% annualized yield.

Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 446,924 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 24,776 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.05.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Better earnings and higher guidance: Verizon reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year. Growth in postpaid phone additions and broadband, lower promotional spending and margin expansion helped support an increase to the company’s 2026 outlook. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal remains strong: Verizon’s dividend yield is above 6%, the company has raised its payout for 20 consecutive years, and dividends consumed approximately 49% of recent free cash flow. This supports the view that the payout is financially sustainable despite Verizon’s substantial debt load. Verizon dividend analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and supplier investment: Freedom Broker upgraded VZ from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to $55. Separately, Verizon announced a $5 billion, five-year commitment to U.S. small-business suppliers, which could strengthen procurement relationships and support its network expansion ecosystem. Freedom Broker upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX competition remains a long-term issue: Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said a fully competitive SpaceX wireless network could take years and require enormous investment. Verizon remains open to a Starlink partnership, but not one that would enable direct competition through Verizon’s infrastructure. Verizon CEO on Starlink partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Countervailing concerns: Several firms, including Barclays, Daiwa, Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen, lowered their price targets. Investors are also watching reports of declining phone upgrades, while CEO Kyle Malady’s recurring Rule 10b5-1 stock sales may weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon phone upgrade trend

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.6%

VZ opened at $44.81 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.68 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $186.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.73.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 72.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.

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