Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 1.6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 1.6% on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $47.00 to $49.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $47.55 and last traded at $46.97. 46,144,152 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 24% from the average session volume of 37,237,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.25.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations and Verizon reported large wireless subscriber additions, supporting revenue/EPS momentum and near‑term upside. InsiderMonkey Q4/Subscriber Adds
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets/ratings recently (Citigroup to $50 Buy, Evercore to $50 Outperform, Scotiabank higher, Morgan Stanley/JPMorgan commentary), adding analyst support for further share appreciation. Citigroup PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Management actions are shareholder‑friendly: a raised quarterly dividend and a ~$25B buyback plan tied to the Frontier deal and cost savings, which improve cash return potential. Yahoo Finance: Frontier deal & buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage/analysis pieces (Zacks, Globe & Mail) are parsing valuation after the Q4 beat — useful context but not an immediate catalytic event. Zacks trending piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s share moves are also tracking the S&P 500 Communications Index today, so some of the move reflects sector flows rather than company‑specific catalysts. Kalkine Media
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and reputational risk: Senator Maria Cantwell says Verizon is blocking release of Salt Typhoon security assessment reports and has asked for CEO testimony — this could lead to scrutiny or hearings. Reuters: Senator on Salt Typhoon
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentaries warn of margin pressure from heavy 5G/fiber capex, price‑lock dynamics and prior price cuts that could limit margin expansion and multiple re‑rating. Zacks: Margin pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: EVP Joseph Russo sold ~9.6k shares recently (SEC filing), a small signal investors may note though not a major directional catalyst by itself. SEC Form 4

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,322,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,504 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,504,150,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,989,427,000 after purchasing an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6%

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $198.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

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.