Aprio Wealth Management LLC Buys 12,683 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 73.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,683 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon-backed Aduna hit a major milestone as the leading provider of U.S. network APIs, giving Verizon a stronger position to sell standardized, CAMARA‑compliant network intelligence to large enterprises — a potential revenue and competitive win. Aduna Reaches Milestone as a Leading Provider of U.S. Network APIs
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon closed its Frontier assets deal and launched a transformation focused on expanding fiber, cutting costs and reshaping enterprise services — management says this could deliver several billion in annual savings and scale fiber reach, supporting longer‑term margin improvement. Verizon Reshapes Fiber, Costs And Enterprise Services With Frontier And Aduna
• Positive Sentiment: NJIT announced an expanded, Verizon‑supported AI and cybersecurity workforce training program (no‑cost to eligible residents), which boosts Verizon’s public positioning on talent development for 5G/AI services and could help with hiring/retention in AI and network security roles. NJIT to Launch Expanded AI and Cybersecurity Workforce Training in Partnership with Verizon
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry and analyst pieces (Zacks, MWC coverage, 5G market reports) highlight Verizon’s value metrics and role in 5G/edge opportunities; useful for sentiment but not immediate catalysts. Here’s Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader telecom ecosystem stories — HCLTech’s AI‑native telecom focus at MWC and a growing 5G smart‑stadium market — underscore secular demand for Verizon’s network services but are industry-level rather than firm-specific catalysts. HCLTech to drive dialogues on AI-native future of telecom industry at MWC 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 VZ shares on Feb. 24 for roughly $9.9M — a large disclosed insider sale that can raise investor concerns about insider confidence or be interpreted as routine liquidity. Hans Erik Vestberg Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~34.8% in February to ~148.3M shares (about 3.5% of float), which increases downward pressure risk and could amplify volatility if sentiment shifts. (Source: short‑interest update provided in filings/news aggregation.)

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $49.98 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $210.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $50.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.