Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 790,316 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 13,702 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 2.2% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $34,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after buying an additional 4,615,075 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in 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 raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the second 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 own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 target price on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.55.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, Frontier deal and $25B buyback — Verizon reported better-than-expected Q4 results and framed the Frontier transaction as a way to cut costs; management also announced a sizable share-repurchase plan that boosts cash-return prospects and EPS leverage. Verizon Resets Story With Frontier Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target increases — Multiple firms raised targets (Evercore to $50, Scotiabank to $50.25, Morgan Stanley to $49), signaling renewed street confidence and potential upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage Scotiabank note
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raise — Verizon increased its quarterly payout to $0.7075 (annualized yield ~6.4%), reinforcing its income-appeal to dividend-focused investors and supporting valuation multiples for yield-sensitive buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to earnings — Coverage notes VZ’s post-earnings rally and significant stock moves after the beat, which is attracting momentum and heightened trading interest. AAII: Why VZ is up
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high options volume — Elevated options activity indicates speculative positioning or hedging around catalysts (earnings, buyback, Frontier deal). This can amplify intraday moves but is ambiguous for direction. Options volume report
• Neutral Sentiment: Former CEO Hans Vestberg joins Digi Power X as advisor — Not a direct operational development for Verizon but notable given his role in Verizon’s 5G rollout; mostly peripheral to VZ fundamentals. Vestberg to Digi Power X
• Negative Sentiment: Customer losses tied to pricing — Multiple reports and commentary highlight management’s admission that price hikes cost the company millions of customers, a risk to long-term subscriber growth and ARPU sustainability. USAToday: Price hikes lost customers Fool: Pricing lost customers
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/strategist caution on buybacks — Some commentary argues buybacks alone aren’t enough to fix competitive or growth issues, warning investors not to overvalue EPS-lift without sustainable revenue improvement. Seeking Alpha: Needs more than buyback

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.73 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.41 and its 200 day moving average is $41.60. The company has a market cap of $188.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.33. 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 $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.