Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock: Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Position

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 183,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 21,838 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 24,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 43,026 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 8,959 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $244,000. Crew Capital Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd now owns 5,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Broker raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.05.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook and earnings beat: Verizon exceeded quarterly adjusted-EPS expectations and raised its 2026 guidance, reinforcing confidence in postpaid additions, broadband growth, margins and free-cash-flow generation. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appears supported by cash flow: Verizon used approximately 49% of free cash flow to fund its dividend, suggesting the roughly 6% yield is backed by internally generated cash rather than additional borrowing. This supports the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Verizon dividend free cash flow analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Debt-management action: Verizon launched offers to purchase up to $500 million of several note series for cash, which could help manage upcoming obligations and interest costs, although the near-term earnings effect is likely limited. Verizon note tender offers
• Neutral Sentiment: Small-business initiative: Verizon plans to direct $5 billion toward U.S. small-business suppliers over five years and is expanding its supplier accelerator program. The effort may strengthen procurement relationships and corporate reputation, but it is not expected to materially change near-term financial results. Verizon small-business supplier commitment
• Negative Sentiment: Wireless upgrade weakness: Customers are delaying or reconsidering phone upgrades, a potentially concerning signal for device sales, customer engagement and future promotional activity. Verizon declining phone upgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, Citi, Barclays, Daiwa Securities, BNP Paribas Exane and Goldman Sachs all lowered their expectations or price targets for Verizon. The revisions may limit upside despite the recent earnings improvement. Analyst outlook for Verizon
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Kyle Malady sold $47,300 of Verizon shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The relatively small transaction is not necessarily a fundamental warning, but repeated sales can weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon CEO insider sale

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $47.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.68 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,238. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.