Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $10.02 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 228,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 22,650 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.1% in the second quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 16,330 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 115.8% during the 2nd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 13,908 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 7,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 841,828 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,426,000 after purchasing an additional 33,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.47.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory green light — Verizon received final approvals to close its $9.6B acquisition of Frontier, which management says will add ~30M fiber passings across 31 states and expand its broadband footprint; closing is expected Jan. 20, 2026, potentially boosting scale, cross‑sell and fiber growth prospects. Verizon and Frontier Receive All Required Regulatory Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Near‑term trading context — coverage notes the stock has moved down in recent sessions as broader markets rose; investors are weighing the deal benefits against near‑term execution risks. Verizon Communications (VZ) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst — analysts and investors are focused on upcoming company reports (including the first full quarter under new leadership) that could clarify integration progress and revenue contribution from the Frontier deal. Should You Buy Verizon Communications Stock Before Jan. 30?
• Negative Sentiment: Major outage & customer credits — a nationwide outage affecting hundreds of thousands lasted ~10–12 hours; Verizon is offering a $20 credit to affected customers, which raises near‑term customer-service costs and negative publicity. Verizon offers $20 credit to customers affected by massive wireless outage
• Negative Sentiment: Cause and scrutiny — reporting ties the outage to a software update; the event has triggered calls for mandatory refunds and could invite regulatory questions about resilience and change‑management controls. Verizon’s Hourslong Wireless Outage Tied to Software Update

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.2%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $165.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.34. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.94 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.81.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

About Verizon Communications

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.