NewEdge Wealth LLC Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 185.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 95,853 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,219 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $2,504,150,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,009,388,000 after buying an additional 4,205,449 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4,274.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,917,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $82,971,000 after buying an additional 1,873,675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa Capital upgraded Verizon, a bullish broker action that likely helped lift sentiment and buying interest in the stock. Daiwa Capital upgrades Verizon Communications (VZ)
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage coverage shows a constructive tilt: an aggregate “Moderate Buy” consensus helps validate demand among institutional investors and supports the stock’s rebound. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend-focused coverage is highlighting Verizon as a reliable income name this year, which can attract retail and institutional dividend-seeking flows that support the share price. Retirees Are Winning Big in 2026: 3 Popular Dividend Stocks Are Soaring
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain supportive: Verizon beat Q4 revenue and EPS expectations and set FY2026 EPS guidance near $4.90–4.95, which gives investors confidence in cash flow and dividend coverage. (Company Q4 earnings release)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis pieces are debating whether the recent price rebound already reflects Verizon’s long?term value — useful reading for investors weighing further entry points versus taking profits. Is Verizon (VZ) Pricing Reflect Long Term Value After Recent Share Price Rebound
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet and liquidity metrics remain points of caution: debt-to-equity is elevated and current/quick ratios are below 1, which could constrain capital flexibility if macro or capex pressures rise.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on VZ. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $49.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $207.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.14. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $50.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.88%.

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.