Advisory Research Inc. Has $8.15 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Advisory Research Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 27,696 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.1% of Advisory Research Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Advisory Research Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted outlook and price targets—Oppenheimer raised its price target to $56 with an “outperform” call, backing upside vs. current levels. Oppenheimer Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded VZ to Sector Outperform, citing the shares as cheap at current levels—another boost to investor sentiment. Scotiabank Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain supportive: Q4 beat on EPS and revenue, strong postpaid and broadband net adds, Frontier acquisition expanded subscriber base, and management set FY26 EPS guidance (4.90–4.95) that keeps cash-flow and dividend narratives intact. Safe Stock / Conference Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial partnerships continue to expand—Kodiak AI disclosed deeper ties with Verizon around autonomous trucking deployments, reflecting potential incremental revenue or product integration opportunities. Kodiak AI Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Several media pieces profile Verizon as a “safe” dividend stock and highlight its 20-year dividend growth and ~5% yield—this supports income-focused demand but may not drive aggressive growth buying. Dividend / Safe-Stock Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and momentum concerns: after a recent run, shares have consolidated near $50 and technical indicators (RSI) showed overbought conditions, which can cap upside in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet/liquidity metrics remain watchpoints—current and quick ratios below 1.0 and a debt-to-equity around 1.32 mean interest-rate or capex risks could pressure margins if growth slows.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.59 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.78. The firm has a market cap of $213.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

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.