Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 648,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,688 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $32,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.83 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $178.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.07.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.09.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised several of its Verizon earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027, including FY2027 EPS to $5.40 from $5.31, suggesting improved profit expectations for the wireless carrier.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is drawing attention as a dividend stock, with multiple articles highlighting its nearly 7% yield and positioning it as a potential income play for investors seeking steady cash flow.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is expanding into connected-car services through a BMW and KDDI partnership, which could support longer-term growth in 5G and IoT-related revenue. BMW (XTRA:BMW) Launches U.S. Connected Car Service With Verizon And KDDI
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage continue to frame Verizon as a value/income stock, with some pieces arguing the shares may be undervalued relative to earnings power and upcoming results.
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank cut Verizon’s price target to $51.50 from $54.50, signaling less upside than before despite keeping an outperform view.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern over SpaceX’s Starlink remains a drag on telecom stocks, with several reports noting that competition fears have pressured Verizon and peers.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Verizon is preparing another round of layoffs and cost cuts may raise questions about growth and execution, even if the moves are aimed at improving efficiency.

Verizon Communications 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.