Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Has $8.70 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,551 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,393 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of VZ opened at $49.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s fiber strategy is receiving attention following its Frontier acquisition. Greater fiber scale could support broadband growth, improve network economics and strengthen the company’s competitive position. Verizon Communications Leans Into Fiber After the Frontier Close
• Positive Sentiment: Income-focused coverage continues to highlight Verizon’s roughly 6% dividend yield and 20 consecutive years of dividend increases. Analysts note that the payout appears secure, although limited growth remains a consideration for investors. Verizon’s Dividend Looks Secure But Investors Should Keep an Eye on Growth
• Positive Sentiment: A post-earnings review presents Verizon as a potential buy-or-hold candidate for income investors. The company recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations and maintains fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of approximately $4.99 to $5.04. Verizon Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q2 Earnings?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The small transaction reduces his holdings by less than 1% and is unlikely to materially change the investment outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles criticizing Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF’s methodology and high-yield “dividend traps” concern other securities and do not directly alter Verizon’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Verizon’s final appeal of a $47 million FCC fine tied to customer location-data practices. The ruling ends the recovery effort and reinforces regulatory and privacy-compliance risks for the telecom operator. Supreme Court Rejects Verizon Bid to Recover $47M FCC Fine

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

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.