Caprock Group LLC Purchases New Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 125,423 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $5,547,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $48.90 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company has a market capitalization of $206.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.33. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $41.30 and a 200-day moving average of $41.84.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly 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 analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on VZ to $54 (from $51) and reiterated a Buy after Verizon’s Q4 showed better-than-expected phone subscriber additions — a near-term subscriber beat that supports revenue momentum and re-rating potential. Verizon (VZ) Gets Target Hike From TD Cowen on Better-Than-Expected Phone Adds
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple value-oriented writeups (Zacks, Yahoo/MSN) argue VZ looks attractively priced on yield and fundamentals, reinforcing the investment case for income/value investors and aiding demand from dividend-focused funds. Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a top value stock for the long term Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting a leadership shift at Verizon frames management’s renewed customer focus as a catalyst for churn reduction and service revenue improvement — a governance/strategy signal that can support multiple re-rating channels. Verizon Leadership Shift Highlights Customer Focus And Potential Undervaluation
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market pieces assessing the “changing Verizon narrative” show Wall Street reworking VZ from a pure yield play toward a mix of value + modest growth — supporting higher multiples but also subject to execution risk. This is more thematic than news-driven, so it helps sentiment but depends on follow-through. Looking At The Verizon Communications (VZ) Narrative As Wall Street Reworks The Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry news on AST SpaceMobile’s satellite progress is being viewed as incremental positive optionality for carriers (including Verizon) because working direct-to-device satellite tech could expand coverage/use cases. It’s a potential long-term upside but not an immediate earnings driver for VZ. BlueBird 6 Unfolds: AST SpaceMobile Unlocks Commercial Growth

Verizon Communications Company 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.