Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Makes New $726,000 Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 16,214 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,743,274,000 after buying an additional 5,075,794 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580,820 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,643,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,634 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $884,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305,471 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total transaction of $48,928.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,446,487.68. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,900 shares of company stock worth $469,073 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $181.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.71 and a 200-day moving average of $46.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon enters earnings season with potential support from strong customer metrics, continued fiber expansion and an attractive valuation. Analysts expect third-quarter earnings per share of approximately $1.27, representing single-digit growth, while investors will focus on subscriber trends and broadband momentum. Is Verizon Stock Worth Buying Ahead of Q3 Earnings Release
• Positive Sentiment: Preview coverage suggests investors may look beyond revenue and EPS to operating indicators such as wireless customer additions, churn, service revenue and broadband growth. Favorable results in these areas could help validate Verizon’s strategy and improve sentiment ahead of the report. Countdown to Verizon Q3 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 26. The earnings event is likely to drive near-term volatility because investors are assessing whether a fresh operating strategy can produce growth in a competitive market. Verizon Q3 2026 Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the sale represented only about 1.09% of his holdings and was planned in advance, it provides limited insight into management’s current outlook. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure remains a key concern. AT&T’s weak market reaction despite an earnings beat and raised outlook weighed on the wireless group, while Starlink is promoting satellite connectivity as a potential disruptor to traditional telecom services. High debt and intense competition could limit Verizon’s upside even if it meets estimates. Starlink Telecom Competition

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.80.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.