Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock: VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Cuts Holdings

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,069,605 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 69,100 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.9% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.07% of Verizon Communications worth $140,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Partners Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 159.5% during the third quarter. Partners Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,493 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 8,294 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 24,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 26.3% in the third quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 43,026 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 8,959 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, Crew Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd now owns 5,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 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 research report on Tuesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.05.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Better earnings and higher guidance: Verizon reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year. Growth in postpaid phone additions and broadband, lower promotional spending and margin expansion helped support an increase to the company’s 2026 outlook. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal remains strong: Verizon’s dividend yield is above 6%, the company has raised its payout for 20 consecutive years, and dividends consumed approximately 49% of recent free cash flow. This supports the view that the payout is financially sustainable despite Verizon’s substantial debt load. Verizon dividend analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and supplier investment: Freedom Broker upgraded VZ from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to $55. Separately, Verizon announced a $5 billion, five-year commitment to U.S. small-business suppliers, which could strengthen procurement relationships and support its network expansion ecosystem. Freedom Broker upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX competition remains a long-term issue: Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said a fully competitive SpaceX wireless network could take years and require enormous investment. Verizon remains open to a Starlink partnership, but not one that would enable direct competition through Verizon’s infrastructure. Verizon CEO on Starlink partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Countervailing concerns: Several firms, including Barclays, Daiwa, Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen, lowered their price targets. Investors are also watching reports of declining phone upgrades, while CEO Kyle Malady’s recurring Rule 10b5-1 stock sales may weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon phone upgrade trend

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $47,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,238. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.68 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.19%.

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.