Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Beck Mack & Oliver LLC

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,321 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 10,500 shares during the period. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $81,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 117,754 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,175,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Argyle Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,217 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445 shares during the period. Arkos Global Advisors raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arkos Global Advisors now owns 10,054 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,864,886 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $213,812,000 after acquiring an additional 90,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4/earnings + guidance — Verizon beat Q4 EPS estimates and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.90–$4.95, reinforcing cash flow and dividend coverage that investors prize. This underpins the stock’s recent upward move and supports dividend-focused buying. MarketBeat VZ overview
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift — Oppenheimer set a new $56 price target on VZ, suggesting upside from current levels and giving investors confidence in consensus estimates and valuation support. Oppenheimer price target
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership/enterprise traction — Coverage of Kodiak AI’s milestones highlights expanded partnerships with Verizon, signaling enterprise & network monetization opportunities beyond core wireless services. That diversification can boost long-term revenue potential. Kodiak AI partnership mention
• Neutral Sentiment: Subscriber momentum — Analysts note solid postpaid phone adds and fixed wireless subscriber growth, which improve churn and lifetime value but have yet to fully translate into stronger service revenue growth. This is constructive for ARPU stability and churn metrics. Zacks subscriber growth article
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue ceiling risk — Despite subscriber gains, analysts and company commentary expect wireless service revenues to remain roughly flat near-term, which could cap share-price upside until service revenue or margin expansion resumes. Zacks revenue outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/resilience narrative — Coverage highlighting Verizon as a high-yield, U.S.-focused defensive stock has driven demand from income-focused investors amid geopolitical volatility; this supports a higher valuation multiple relative to risk-off peers. MarketBeat dividend safe-haven piece

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $51.36 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.41 and its 200-day moving average is $42.82. The stock has a market cap of $216.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

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.