Peterson Wealth Services Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Peterson Wealth Services lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,903 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 23,603 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Cadinha & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,046,000 after buying an additional 336,190 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $309,551,000 after purchasing an additional 722,559 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 378.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after buying an additional 74,151 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 555,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $24,427,000 after acquiring an additional 43,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.8% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 2,762,705 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $121,421,000 after acquiring an additional 151,100 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, Frontier deal and $25B buyback — Verizon reported better-than-expected Q4 results and framed the Frontier transaction as a way to cut costs; management also announced a sizable share-repurchase plan that boosts cash-return prospects and EPS leverage. Verizon Resets Story With Frontier Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target increases — Multiple firms raised targets (Evercore to $50, Scotiabank to $50.25, Morgan Stanley to $49), signaling renewed street confidence and potential upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage Scotiabank note
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raise — Verizon increased its quarterly payout to $0.7075 (annualized yield ~6.4%), reinforcing its income-appeal to dividend-focused investors and supporting valuation multiples for yield-sensitive buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to earnings — Coverage notes VZ’s post-earnings rally and significant stock moves after the beat, which is attracting momentum and heightened trading interest. AAII: Why VZ is up
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options volume — Elevated options activity indicates speculative positioning or hedging around catalysts (earnings, buyback, Frontier deal). This can amplify intraday moves but is ambiguous for direction. Options volume report
• Neutral Sentiment: Former CEO Hans Vestberg joins Digi Power X as advisor — Not a direct operational development for Verizon but notable given his role in Verizon’s 5G rollout; mostly peripheral to VZ fundamentals. Vestberg to Digi Power X
• Negative Sentiment: Customer losses tied to pricing — Multiple reports and commentary highlight management’s admission that price hikes cost the company millions of customers, a risk to long-term subscriber growth and ARPU sustainability. USAToday: Price hikes lost customers Fool: Pricing lost customers
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/strategist caution on buybacks — Some commentary argues buybacks alone aren’t enough to fix competitive or growth issues, warning investors not to overvalue EPS-lift without sustainable revenue improvement. Seeking Alpha: Needs more than buyback

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.73 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.41 and its 200 day moving average is $41.60. The company has a market cap of $188.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.55.

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.