Birch Financial Group LLC Has $1.01 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Birch Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 71.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,738 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 10,299 shares during the quarter. Birch Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,433,114,000 after buying an additional 1,117,733 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after acquiring an additional 557,576 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,238,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $992,939,000 after acquiring an additional 646,537 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.26 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.31. The firm has a market cap of $211.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.30. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade 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 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.32.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management execution: new CEO Dan Schulman has driven aggressive cost cuts and closed the $20B Frontier acquisition, which the market views as accelerating scale and margin improvement; analysts and income investors are re-rating VZ on the “new Verizon” narrative. Verizon remains a top dividend stock for passive income
• Positive Sentiment: Legal/competitive win: a federal judge granted Verizon a preliminary injunction blocking T‑Mobile’s ad campaign that promised large consumer savings — a potential help to churn and pricing competitiveness. Verizon wins injunction blocking T‑Mobile ad campaign
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend/income appeal: multiple payout-focused writeups highlight VZ’s ~5.5% yield and improving operating profile, supporting demand from income-focused funds. 3 Investments With Solid Yields Powering Through Market Weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Catalyst: Verizon will report Q1 2026 results on April 27 (webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET) — this is the next major event that could move the stock based on subscriber trends, margin progress and guidance. Verizon to report earnings April 27, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/analyst views: Citi and other analysts have increased price targets (one recent bump to $55), reflecting confidence in upside if cost saves and convergence strategies continue to gain traction. Verizon Communications (VZ) Price Target Bumped to $55
• Negative Sentiment: Customer-pricing risk: Verizon raised the price on a popular discounted offer, which could hurt acquisition/retention if consumers react — notable since management previously flagged price-sensitivity as a contributor to past losses. Verizon raises price on key discounted offer for customers
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and institutional selling: recent data show insider sales and large institutional position reductions by some firms — these moves can pressure sentiment even if they don’t reflect company fundamentals. Verizon Communications Inc. to Report First-Quarter 2026 Earnings on April 27

About Verizon Communications

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.