Welch & Forbes LLC Has $30.86 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 702,159 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 24,900 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $30,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,130,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after buying an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded 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. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.43.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on EPS and revenue — Verizon reported $1.09 EPS vs. consensus $1.06 and revenue of $36.38B, topping estimates and showing 2% year-over-year revenue growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance — management set guidance of $4.90–$4.95, above consensus, improving forward earnings visibility and supporting valuation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong subscriber momentum — Verizon logged its highest quarterly wireless net adds in years (notably large postpaid phone adds), a primary driver of the upside in revenue and service growth metrics. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Capital return program — management outlined a large buyback program (cited in call writeups), which supports EPS and signals confidence in cash flow. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity — heavy call buying was reported intraday, consistent with speculative/hedged bullish positioning by some investors. (Options volume report)
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational resilience highlighted — company actions to harden networks for winter storms were noted; supports customer experience but is a longer-term benefit. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive media/analyst writeups emphasize value after the beat, framing VZ as an income + growth story for yield-seeking investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and cost risks called out — deeper analysis warns that aggressive subscriber promotions, the Frontier deal and integration/unit economics could pressure margins and near-term earnings visibility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cut — Wells Fargo trimmed its target in a sector reassessment, a reminder that some shops remain cautious on wireless pricing and capital intensity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Dividend-safety concerns re-surfacing — articles questioning sustainability of the ~7% yield could weigh on long-term income-focused demand if cash flow dynamics shift. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Minor institutional selling — a small manager reduced its position, noted in filings; not a major red flag but adds to mixed signals. Read More.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 11.8%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $187.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.34.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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.