IFG Advisory LLC Has $5.84 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

IFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,669 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,433,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,733 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,009,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205,449 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares in 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 showcased a vehicle‑to‑everything (V2X) proof‑of‑concept at MWC Barcelona with Aptiv and Wind River that used its 5G + edge compute platform to share real‑time sensor data between cars — a concrete example of how Verizon’s network could create new enterprise revenue streams in connected‑vehicle services. V2X Trial Article
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and capital returns remain supportive: Verizon beat EPS estimates in its latest quarter, set FY2026 guidance of $4.90–4.95, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7075 (5.6% yield), which underpins income investor demand. MarketBeat Earnings & Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Verizon recently considered pulling back on its NFL sponsorship deal — may reflect cost/marketing reprioritization but outcome and financial impact are unclear. MSN NFL Sponsorship Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media attention: Zacks notes VZ as a highly watched stock and provides a fresh take for investors weighing value vs. growth; coverage can drive short‑term flows but contains no new company guidance. Zacks Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noted AST SpaceMobile’s big revenue beat; any direct benefit to Verizon is speculative but it keeps space‑based cellular themes in the newsflow. AST SpaceMobile Story
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness tied to U.S.‑Iran escalation fears pressured major indexes — a macro headwind that can weigh on VZ despite defensive characteristics. Market Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Mary‑Lee Stillwell disclosed a sale of 8,569 shares at about $50 — a routine liquidity event but one that can nudge short‑term sentiment lower. SEC Filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $51.20 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $215.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.