28,218 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Bought by Miller Global Investments LLC

Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 28,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,149,000. Verizon Communications makes up 1.0% of Miller Global Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. CGN Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $1,539,000. GK Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,466 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 21,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Mirova grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirova now owns 68,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,012,000 after purchasing an additional 23,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 109.4% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 329,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,484,000 after purchasing an additional 172,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts/coverage pieces argue Verizon’s combination of 5G growth, continued fiber expansion and a relatively attractive valuation give it better upside vs. AT&T, supporting a longer-term case for the shares. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold on Verizon, signaling no near-term conviction for a buy despite operational progress. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: J.P. Morgan maintained a Hold and a roughly $49 price target, noting near-term earnings headwinds are balanced by strategic fiber investments. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legislative update — H.R.7752 (Kelsey Smith Act) would tighten requirements for providers to disclose location data during emergencies, which could force process and compliance changes for carriers including Verizon (operational/regulatory impact is uncertain). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/allocations note — a new options-overlay ETF (DDDD) that builds on SCHD highlights yield-seeking product innovation; such products can influence where income-focused investors allocate capital versus high-yielding telecoms. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc warned Verizon’s planned new reporting structure (starting in Q1) reduces disclosure usefulness and makes modeling revenue/segment trends harder — a transparency hit that can weigh on investor confidence and valuation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Feature pieces and analyst notes continue to flag Verizon’s heavy debt load, large ongoing capex needs (5G/fiber), and leadership transition as execution risks that could pressure near-term returns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market-watch commentary noted Verizon shares have recently declined more than the broader market, reflecting the combination of the items above (analyst caution, reporting-change concerns and income-rotation). Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Barclays started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $208.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.00.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS 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 business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 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.