Abacus Wealth Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 25,612 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,043,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Triton Wealth Management PLLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FCC approved Verizon’s $1 billion purchase of spectrum assets from U.S. Cellular, a move that should expand Verizon’s network capacity and coverage and strengthen its competitive position. FCC approves Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon joined AT&T and T-Mobile in a proposed satellite-based joint venture aimed at closing rural wireless dead zones, which could improve service quality, coverage reliability, and the industry’s long-term growth narrative. Verizon Joins Rivals On Satellite Venture Reshaping Coverage And Investor Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon closed a $4 billion junior subordinated notes offering, which was framed as strengthening its capital structure and supporting refinancing/funding flexibility. Verizon Strengthens Capital Structure with $4 Billion Notes
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish piece highlighted Verizon as one of 2026’s top defensive picks, citing undervaluation, a well-covered dividend, and potential upside over the next year. Why Verizon Is One of Our Top Defensive Picks In 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on Verizon’s competitive position versus T-Mobile, customer retention, and a customer-facing website blocking issue; these are more mixed in nature and do not clearly change the near-term investment case. T-Mobile vs. Verizon: Is It Time to Choose a New Carrier?
• Negative Sentiment: A report on new layoffs suggests Verizon is still pushing hard on cost cuts and restructuring, which may help margins but can also signal pressure on operations and demand. Verizon Announces New Layoffs as Cost-Cutting Continues Into 2026
• Negative Sentiment: One article warned that Verizon’s latest phone plan changes could push away customers, reinforcing concerns about churn in a highly competitive wireless market. Verizon’s latest phone plan change may drive away consumers

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.48.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction 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 represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.