AGF Management Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,035 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudock Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Camden National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the second quarter. FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $46.34 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.64. The firm has a market cap of $195.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS 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 company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s 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. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages lifted price targets and ratings (Citigroup to $50 with a Buy, Evercore to $50 Outperform, Scotiabank to $50.25, Morgan Stanley/JPMorgan to $49, RBC higher) — bolstering near-term upside expectations. Citigroup PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon reported a Q4 beat (EPS $1.09 vs $1.06 est.; revenue ~$36.4B vs ~$36.1B) and posted large wireless subscriber additions — fundamentals that support the rally. InsiderMonkey Q4/Subscriber Adds
• Positive Sentiment: Management actions: a raised quarterly dividend (new yield ~6.4%) plus headlines about cost cuts tied to the Frontier deal and a $25B buyback plan — both increase shareholder return potential. Yahoo Finance: Frontier deal & buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst-insight pieces are circulating (Globe and Mail, Zacks, AAII) parsing valuation and whether the Q4 beat merits portfolio re‑positioning — useful reading but not an immediate catalyst. Globe and Mail analyst insights
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s stock is moving with the S&P 500 Communications Index — some of today’s move reflects sector flows rather than company-specific news. Kalkine Media
• Negative Sentiment: Senator Maria Cantwell said Verizon (and AT&T) are blocking release of key Salt Typhoon security assessment reports and called for CEOs to testify — this raises regulatory and reputational risk that investors will watch closely. Reuters: Senator on Salt Typhoon
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentaries flag margin pressure from heavy 5G and fiber investment, price lock dynamics and the potential for customer losses tied to prior price cuts — factors that could cap multiple expansion. Zacks: Margin pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Some market pieces warn Verizon may encounter technical resistance near recent highs and note CEO comments that prior price cuts hurt customer counts — caution for momentum traders. USA Today: Price cuts cost customers

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.