Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Buys 20,033 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 592,575 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,033 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.9% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is moving to sell 274 company-owned retail stores to franchisees and cut roughly 3,000 jobs, a restructuring that could lower operating costs and improve margins over time. Reuters: Verizon to shed 274 stores, lay off another 500 corporate employees
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction has been favorable to the cost-reset story, with articles noting VZ rose as investors responded to the store shakeup and expense reduction plans. Yahoo Finance: VZ Stock Rises — Verizon Moves To Slash Costs With Major Store Shakeup
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 earnings estimate for Verizon and kept a Hold rating, suggesting only modest near-term earnings improvement. MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is expected to report earnings on Friday, which keeps investors focused on whether the restructuring and broadband growth can offset slower revenue trends. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (VZ) to Post Earnings on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are cautioning that Verizon already trades at a premium relative to peers, which could limit upside if earnings growth disappoints. Trefis: VZ Earns Its Premium Over Peers. Now What?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank also lowered its price target to $51.50, reflecting some skepticism about the pace of Verizon’s improvement. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Lowered to $51.50 at Scotiabank

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.09.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.02%.

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.