NewEdge Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 134,188 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,335 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 9,578 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 40,242 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 15,934 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. F m Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 233,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,501,000 after purchasing an additional 52,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE VZ opened at $47.21 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.81 and a 200-day moving average of $44.20. The firm has a market cap of $197.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon will have CEO Dan Schulman speak at two upcoming investor conferences, giving management a chance to outline strategy, answer questions on the business outlook, and potentially reinforce confidence in the company’s execution. Verizon to Speak at Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Verizon to $4.96 from $4.92, signaling slightly better earnings expectations and suggesting analysts see stable fundamentals ahead. Verizon Communications (VZ) Surged from Excellent Execution
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s broader fiber expansion and buyback plans continue to support the investment case, as the company now has a larger fiber footprint and a $25 billion repurchase authorization that can help offset share dilution and support per-share metrics. Verizon Weighs Frontier Fiber Expansion Against Buybacks And Cost Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon also confirmed a few hundred job cuts as part of an ongoing operational revamp. The move supports cost discipline, but it is not large enough on its own to materially change the near-term earnings outlook. Verizon cutting a few hundred jobs nationwide

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications 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.