Peterson Wealth Services Decreases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Peterson Wealth Services lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 77.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,903 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 23,603 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615,075 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205,449 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in 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 worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.73 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.41 and a 200-day moving average of $41.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.55.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, Frontier deal and $25B buyback — Verizon reported better-than-expected Q4 results and framed the Frontier transaction as a way to cut costs; management also announced a sizable share-repurchase plan that boosts cash-return prospects and EPS leverage. Verizon Resets Story With Frontier Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target increases — Multiple firms raised targets (Evercore to $50, Scotiabank to $50.25, Morgan Stanley to $49), signaling renewed street confidence and potential upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage Scotiabank note
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raise — Verizon increased its quarterly payout to $0.7075 (annualized yield ~6.4%), reinforcing its income-appeal to dividend-focused investors and supporting valuation multiples for yield-sensitive buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to earnings — Coverage notes VZ’s post-earnings rally and significant stock moves after the beat, which is attracting momentum and heightened trading interest. AAII: Why VZ is up
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options volume — Elevated options activity indicates speculative positioning or hedging around catalysts (earnings, buyback, Frontier deal). This can amplify intraday moves but is ambiguous for direction. Options volume report
• Neutral Sentiment: Former CEO Hans Vestberg joins Digi Power X as advisor — Not a direct operational development for Verizon but notable given his role in Verizon’s 5G rollout; mostly peripheral to VZ fundamentals. Vestberg to Digi Power X
• Negative Sentiment: Customer losses tied to pricing — Multiple reports and commentary highlight management’s admission that price hikes cost the company millions of customers, a risk to long-term subscriber growth and ARPU sustainability. USAToday: Price hikes lost customers Fool: Pricing lost customers
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/strategist caution on buybacks — Some commentary argues buybacks alone aren’t enough to fix competitive or growth issues, warning investors not to overvalue EPS-lift without sustainable revenue improvement. Seeking Alpha: Needs more than buyback

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.