JT Stratford LLC Has $1.53 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 300.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,143 shares during the quarter. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cambria Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 247,159 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,701,000 after purchasing an additional 9,028 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 27,782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,033 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 3,603 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 21,042 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Finally, Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction 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 $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $51.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $215.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.41. 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 simple moving average of $43.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.51.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.88%.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon showcased a vehicle?to?everything (V2X) proof?of?concept at MWC Barcelona with Aptiv and Wind River that used its 5G + edge compute platform to share real?time sensor data between cars — a concrete example of how Verizon’s network could create new enterprise revenue streams in connected?vehicle services. V2X Trial Article
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and capital returns remain supportive: Verizon beat EPS estimates in its latest quarter, set FY2026 guidance of $4.90–4.95, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7075 (5.6% yield), which underpins income investor demand. MarketBeat Earnings & Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Verizon recently considered pulling back on its NFL sponsorship deal — may reflect cost/marketing reprioritization but outcome and financial impact are unclear. MSN NFL Sponsorship Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media attention: Zacks notes VZ as a highly watched stock and provides a fresh take for investors weighing value vs. growth; coverage can drive short?term flows but contains no new company guidance. Zacks Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noted AST SpaceMobile’s big revenue beat; any direct benefit to Verizon is speculative but it keeps space?based cellular themes in the newsflow. AST SpaceMobile Story
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness tied to U.S.?Iran escalation fears pressured major indexes — a macro headwind that can weigh on VZ despite defensive characteristics. Market Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Mary?Lee Stillwell disclosed a sale of 8,569 shares at about $50 — a routine liquidity event but one that can nudge short?term sentiment lower. SEC Filing

About Verizon Communications

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.