Flagship Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Flagship Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 51,974 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,117,000. Verizon Communications comprises 1.5% of Flagship Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 612,966 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,523,000 after buying an additional 22,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 751,103 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $32,500,000 after buying an additional 9,072 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Huge one‑day call buying: Traders bought roughly 325,956 VZ call options on Thursday (≈300% above average), which is a strong short‑term bullish flow that can lift the stock or signal expectation of upside catalysts.
• Positive Sentiment: Media/analyst praise and momentum: Commentary from Jim Cramer and articles highlighting Verizon’s recent outperformance, fiber expansion and bundle strategy reinforce investor confidence in upside from network investments. Jim Cramer Says “Verizon’s Actually Got Some Game Here”
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appeal: Coverage in Barron’s / Yahoo highlights Verizon as a 5%-yielding, dividend-raising name — attracts income investors and supports base demand for the stock. These Companies Pay 5% Dividend Yields and Are Raising Them Too
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental/strategy coverage: Analysts and outlets note Verizon’s fiber growth, the Frontier deal and bundling that helped VZ climb ~20% in recent months — supports a constructive medium‑term thesis even as margins face pressure. Verizon Shares Rise 20.6% in Three Months: How to Play the Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Erste Group nudged FY2027 EPS estimates slightly higher and keeps a Strong‑Buy stance, indicating some sell‑side conviction beneath the recent run. (Research note referenced 4/2)
• Neutral Sentiment: Advertising disclosure ruling: BBB’s NAD found Verizon’s pricing disclosures adequate in a challenge by T‑Mobile — removes a small regulatory/PR overhang but has limited price impact. NAD Finds Verizon Wireless Pricing Disclosures Adequate
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: Macro/geopolitical caution pushes some investors toward dividends as a safety trade — this supports Verizon’s appeal but may also cap aggressive growth positioning. Geopolitical Risks Are Seriously High. Why I’d Shift to Dividends
• Negative Sentiment: DBS downgrade to Hold: DBS cut VZ from Buy to Hold and set a $52 target, citing the stock’s strong run and limited near‑term upside — this likely triggered some profit‑taking and selling pressure. DBS Bank Downgrades Verizon (VZ) to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term pullback/price action: Several pieces note a recent pullback after a strong YTD run, and a report flagged the stock closing lower despite broader market gains — signaling profit‑taking and rotation out of the name. Verizon Communications (VZ) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Evercore 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 report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:VZ opened at $47.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.60. The company has a market capitalization of $199.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.