St. James Investment Company LLC Invests $19.17 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

St. James Investment Company LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 470,750 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $19,174,000. Verizon Communications accounts for 3.1% of St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after buying an additional 4,905,101 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,983,000 after buying an additional 2,965,033 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced tender offers, exchange offers, and consent solicitations for multiple series of notes, a move that could help streamline debt, reduce financing complexity, and support long-term balance sheet management. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Verizon as a top-ranked growth stock and noted that the company continues to draw investor attention, which can reinforce the view that the stock remains attractive on valuation and fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles focus on Verizon’s status as a watched name and on broader commentary about its investment story, suggesting steady market interest rather than a clear new catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s ongoing layoffs and AI-related restructuring may improve efficiency over time, but they also signal that management is still working through a major cost-reset and transition period. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary flagged Verizon as one of the communication-services names most exposed to rising rates, since its dividend becomes less competitive versus Treasuries and investors may rotate away from telecom income stocks. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of VZ opened at $47.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $200.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.