L & S Advisors Inc Purchases New Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 16,198 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905,101 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

VZ stock opened at $46.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FCC approved Verizon’s $1 billion purchase of spectrum assets from U.S. Cellular, a move that should expand Verizon’s network capacity and coverage and strengthen its competitive position. FCC approves Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon joined AT&T and T-Mobile in a proposed satellite-based joint venture aimed at closing rural wireless dead zones, which could improve service quality, coverage reliability, and the industry’s long-term growth narrative. Verizon Joins Rivals On Satellite Venture Reshaping Coverage And Investor Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon closed a $4 billion junior subordinated notes offering, which was framed as strengthening its capital structure and supporting refinancing/funding flexibility. Verizon Strengthens Capital Structure with $4 Billion Notes
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish piece highlighted Verizon as one of 2026’s top defensive picks, citing undervaluation, a well-covered dividend, and potential upside over the next year. Why Verizon Is One of Our Top Defensive Picks In 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on Verizon’s competitive position versus T-Mobile, customer retention, and a customer-facing website blocking issue; these are more mixed in nature and do not clearly change the near-term investment case. T-Mobile vs. Verizon: Is It Time to Choose a New Carrier?
• Negative Sentiment: A report on new layoffs suggests Verizon is still pushing hard on cost cuts and restructuring, which may help margins but can also signal pressure on operations and demand. Verizon Announces New Layoffs as Cost-Cutting Continues Into 2026
• Negative Sentiment: One article warned that Verizon’s latest phone plan changes could push away customers, reinforcing concerns about churn in a highly competitive wireless market. Verizon’s latest phone plan change may drive away consumers

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.