Royal Fund Management LLC Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Royal Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon by 195.9% in Q4, adding 153,094 shares for a total holding of 231,237 shares valued at about $9.42 million.
• Verizon boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.7075 (annualized $2.83, roughly a 5.6% yield), set FY2026 EPS guidance at 4.90–4.95, and will report Q1 results on April 27 as the next major catalyst.
• While management has executed cost cuts and closed the $20B Frontier deal—prompting analyst upgrades—insiders sold 218,148 shares (~$10.8M) over the past three months, and institutional investors hold about 62.06% of the stock.

Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 195.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 231,237 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 153,094 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management execution: new CEO Dan Schulman has driven aggressive cost cuts and closed the $20B Frontier acquisition, which the market views as accelerating scale and margin improvement; analysts and income investors are re-rating VZ on the “new Verizon” narrative. Verizon remains a top dividend stock for passive income
• Positive Sentiment: Legal/competitive win: a federal judge granted Verizon a preliminary injunction blocking T‑Mobile’s ad campaign that promised large consumer savings — a potential help to churn and pricing competitiveness. Verizon wins injunction blocking T‑Mobile ad campaign
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend/income appeal: multiple payout-focused writeups highlight VZ’s ~5.5% yield and improving operating profile, supporting demand from income-focused funds. 3 Investments With Solid Yields Powering Through Market Weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Catalyst: Verizon will report Q1 2026 results on April 27 (webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET) — this is the next major event that could move the stock based on subscriber trends, margin progress and guidance. Verizon to report earnings April 27, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/analyst views: Citi and other analysts have increased price targets (one recent bump to $55), reflecting confidence in upside if cost saves and convergence strategies continue to gain traction. Verizon Communications (VZ) Price Target Bumped to $55
• Negative Sentiment: Customer-pricing risk: Verizon raised the price on a popular discounted offer, which could hurt acquisition/retention if consumers react — notable since management previously flagged price-sensitivity as a contributor to past losses. Verizon raises price on key discounted offer for customers
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and institutional selling: recent data show insider sales and large institutional position reductions by some firms — these moves can pressure sentiment even if they don’t reflect company fundamentals. Verizon Communications Inc. to Report First-Quarter 2026 Earnings on April 27

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.26 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The stock has a market cap of $211.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.30.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications'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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on VZ shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.32.

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.

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