Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 21,838 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 183,713 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 21,838 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first 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 grew 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 worth $1,915,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580,820 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $184,260,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $132,893,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.65 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.68 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.71. The company has a market cap of $181.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.19%.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook and earnings beat: Verizon exceeded quarterly adjusted-EPS expectations and raised its 2026 guidance, reinforcing confidence in postpaid additions, broadband growth, margins and free-cash-flow generation. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appears supported by cash flow: Verizon used approximately 49% of free cash flow to fund its dividend, suggesting the roughly 6% yield is backed by internally generated cash rather than additional borrowing. This supports the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Verizon dividend free cash flow analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Debt-management action: Verizon launched offers to purchase up to $500 million of several note series for cash, which could help manage upcoming obligations and interest costs, although the near-term earnings effect is likely limited. Verizon note tender offers
• Neutral Sentiment: Small-business initiative: Verizon plans to direct $5 billion toward U.S. small-business suppliers over five years and is expanding its supplier accelerator program. The effort may strengthen procurement relationships and corporate reputation, but it is not expected to materially change near-term financial results. Verizon small-business supplier commitment
• Negative Sentiment: Wireless upgrade weakness: Customers are delaying or reconsidering phone upgrades, a potentially concerning signal for device sales, customer engagement and future promotional activity. Verizon declining phone upgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, Citi, Barclays, Daiwa Securities, BNP Paribas Exane and Goldman Sachs all lowered their expectations or price targets for Verizon. The revisions may limit upside despite the recent earnings improvement. Analyst outlook for Verizon
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Kyle Malady sold $47,300 of Verizon shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The relatively small transaction is not necessarily a fundamental warning, but repeated sales can weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon CEO insider sale

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.05.

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.