Econ Financial Services Corp Has $3.18 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 14,862 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 1.6% of Econ Financial Services Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Econ Financial Services Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.35. 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 fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Federal court granted Verizon a preliminary injunction blocking a T‑Mobile ad campaign that promised large savings to switch — a competitive win that protects Verizon’s customer messaging and could limit aggressive poaching by a rival. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citi recently raised its price target to $55, signaling some analyst conviction behind upside potential and supporting the narrative that Verizon’s cost cuts and acquisition could boost margins. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Verizon as a top dividend stock and management’s actions (CEO Dan Schulman’s cost cuts and the Frontier acquisition) reinforces the income/turnaround thesis that has supported the rally earlier this year. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $47 (maintaining an “Equal Weight” rating), citing signs of a subscriber turnaround and telecom’s defensive appeal — the move is a mild vote of confidence but the PT still sits below the current market price, so its net impact is mixed. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon set its Q1 2026 earnings date for April 27. The upcoming report and webcast present a catalyst for renewed volatility as investors look for subscriber trends and progress on margin targets. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is a trending stock on some retail/coverage sites (Zacks, Business Insider), which can increase attention and trading volume but doesn’t directly change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The company raised the price on a heavily discounted customer offer — a potential short-term revenue boost but a risk for churn if customers react negatively, which could weigh on subscriber-growth confidence. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent data show notable insider selling activity and some large institutional reductions in recent quarters — these flows can add selling pressure or at least create caution among investors. Article Title

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.56.

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.