Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 704,613 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,463 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $30,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. United Bank raised its position in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.6% in the second quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 12,588 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 18.9% in the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 288,029 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,463,000 after acquiring an additional 45,825 shares during the period. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 8,434 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:VZ opened at $51.36 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.82. The company has a market capitalization of $216.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.03.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4/earnings + guidance — Verizon beat Q4 EPS estimates and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.90–$4.95, reinforcing cash flow and dividend coverage that investors prize. This underpins the stock’s recent upward move and supports dividend-focused buying. MarketBeat VZ overview
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift — Oppenheimer set a new $56 price target on VZ, suggesting upside from current levels and giving investors confidence in consensus estimates and valuation support. Oppenheimer price target
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership/enterprise traction — Coverage of Kodiak AI’s milestones highlights expanded partnerships with Verizon, signaling enterprise & network monetization opportunities beyond core wireless services. That diversification can boost long-term revenue potential. Kodiak AI partnership mention
• Neutral Sentiment: Subscriber momentum — Analysts note solid postpaid phone adds and fixed wireless subscriber growth, which improve churn and lifetime value but have yet to fully translate into stronger service revenue growth. This is constructive for ARPU stability and churn metrics. Zacks subscriber growth article
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue ceiling risk — Despite subscriber gains, analysts and company commentary expect wireless service revenues to remain roughly flat near-term, which could cap share-price upside until service revenue or margin expansion resumes. Zacks revenue outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/resilience narrative — Coverage highlighting Verizon as a high-yield, U.S.-focused defensive stock has driven demand from income-focused investors amid geopolitical volatility; this supports a higher valuation multiple relative to risk-off peers. MarketBeat dividend safe-haven piece

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.