Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,217 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 22,496 shares during the period. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 335,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,761,000 after acquiring an additional 13,787 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,521,000 after purchasing an additional 17,495 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,665,000 after purchasing an additional 46,699 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,196,000 after purchasing an additional 21,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 378.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 74,151 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Federal court granted Verizon a preliminary injunction blocking a T‑Mobile ad campaign that promised large savings to switch — a competitive win that protects Verizon’s customer messaging and could limit aggressive poaching by a rival. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citi recently raised its price target to $55, signaling some analyst conviction behind upside potential and supporting the narrative that Verizon’s cost cuts and acquisition could boost margins. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Verizon as a top dividend stock and management’s actions (CEO Dan Schulman’s cost cuts and the Frontier acquisition) reinforces the income/turnaround thesis that has supported the rally earlier this year. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $47 (maintaining an “Equal Weight” rating), citing signs of a subscriber turnaround and telecom’s defensive appeal — the move is a mild vote of confidence but the PT still sits below the current market price, so its net impact is mixed. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon set its Q1 2026 earnings date for April 27. The upcoming report and webcast present a catalyst for renewed volatility as investors look for subscriber trends and progress on margin targets. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is a trending stock on some retail/coverage sites (Zacks, Business Insider), which can increase attention and trading volume but doesn’t directly change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The company raised the price on a heavily discounted customer offer — a potential short-term revenue boost but a risk for churn if customers react negatively, which could weigh on subscriber-growth confidence. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent data show notable insider selling activity and some large institutional reductions in recent quarters — these flows can add selling pressure or at least create caution among investors. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.56.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

VZ stock opened at $50.15 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $211.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.35. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.15%.

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.