Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 38.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,387 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,792 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the second 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 increased its holdings 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 valued at $309,551,000 after acquiring an additional 722,559 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $4,120,000 after acquiring 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 valued at $24,427,000 after purchasing an additional 43,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its stake 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 valued at $121,421,000 after purchasing an additional 151,100 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’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 directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $46.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $47.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.68. The company has a market capitalization of $198.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.33.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and subscriber strength — Verizon posted a fourth‑quarter earnings and revenue beat and reported sizable wireless subscriber additions, which underpins near‑term revenue momentum and investor confidence. InsiderMonkey Q4/Subscriber Adds
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — multiple firms have raised price targets or ratings (Citigroup to $50 buy, Evercore/Scotiabank, JPMorgan raised) supporting upside expectations and helping buying interest. Citigroup PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns and cost actions — management is executing cost savings, pursuing a $25B buyback program and recently increased the quarterly dividend, all of which bolster EPS and free‑cash‑flow outlook for 2026. Seeking Alpha: Momentum & Buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage parsing valuation — pieces from Zacks and others are discussing whether the Q4 beat and yield justify repositioning into VZ; useful background but not an immediate catalyst. Zacks Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector/flow influence — some of today’s move reflects the S&P 500 Communications Index and sector flows rather than pure company‑specific news. Kalkine Media
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/reputational risk — Senator Maria Cantwell said Verizon (and AT&T) are blocking release of Salt Typhoon security assessment reports and requested CEOs testify before Congress, creating potential regulatory scrutiny and reputational risk. Reuters: Senator on Salt Typhoon
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/competitive escalation — Verizon filed a suit accusing T‑Mobile of false advertising over savings claims; this could intensify competitive spending on promotions and trigger legal costs or a public dispute. Reuters: Verizon sues T‑Mobile
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and margin concerns — an EVP disclosed a sizable share sale and analysts warn that heavy 5G/fiber investment, price‑lock dynamics and margin pressure could limit multiple expansion. SEC Form 4: Russo Sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

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.