Live Oak Investment Partners Purchases 26,199 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Live Oak Investment Partners grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 563.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,199 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.0% of Live Oak Investment Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Live Oak Investment Partners’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Hudock Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camden National Bank increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.81. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.94 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory green light — Verizon received final approvals to close its $9.6B acquisition of Frontier, which management says will add ~30M fiber passings across 31 states and expand its broadband footprint; closing is expected Jan. 20, 2026, potentially boosting scale, cross‑sell and fiber growth prospects. Verizon and Frontier Receive All Required Regulatory Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Near‑term trading context — coverage notes the stock has moved down in recent sessions as broader markets rose; investors are weighing the deal benefits against near‑term execution risks. Verizon Communications (VZ) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst — analysts and investors are focused on upcoming company reports (including the first full quarter under new leadership) that could clarify integration progress and revenue contribution from the Frontier deal. Should You Buy Verizon Communications Stock Before Jan. 30?
• Negative Sentiment: Major outage & customer credits — a nationwide outage affecting hundreds of thousands lasted ~10–12 hours; Verizon is offering a $20 credit to affected customers, which raises near‑term customer-service costs and negative publicity. Verizon offers $20 credit to customers affected by massive wireless outage
• Negative Sentiment: Cause and scrutiny — reporting ties the outage to a software update; the event has triggered calls for mandatory refunds and could invite regulatory questions about resilience and change‑management controls. Verizon’s Hourslong Wireless Outage Tied to Software Update

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.