Joseph Russo Sells 9,579 Shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) EVP Joseph 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 transaction of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 59,172,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,805,560. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $195.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages lifted price targets and ratings (Citigroup to $50 with a Buy, Evercore to $50 Outperform, Scotiabank to $50.25, Morgan Stanley/JPMorgan to $49, RBC higher) — bolstering near-term upside expectations. Citigroup PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon reported a Q4 beat (EPS $1.09 vs $1.06 est.; revenue ~$36.4B vs ~$36.1B) and posted large wireless subscriber additions — fundamentals that support the rally. InsiderMonkey Q4/Subscriber Adds
• Positive Sentiment: Management actions: a raised quarterly dividend (new yield ~6.4%) plus headlines about cost cuts tied to the Frontier deal and a $25B buyback plan — both increase shareholder return potential. Yahoo Finance: Frontier deal & buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst-insight pieces are circulating (Globe and Mail, Zacks, AAII) parsing valuation and whether the Q4 beat merits portfolio re‑positioning — useful reading but not an immediate catalyst. Globe and Mail analyst insights
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s stock is moving with the S&P 500 Communications Index — some of today’s move reflects sector flows rather than company-specific news. Kalkine Media
• Negative Sentiment: Senator Maria Cantwell said Verizon (and AT&T) are blocking release of key Salt Typhoon security assessment reports and called for CEOs to testify — this raises regulatory and reputational risk that investors will watch closely. Reuters: Senator on Salt Typhoon
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentaries flag margin pressure from heavy 5G and fiber investment, price lock dynamics and the potential for customer losses tied to prior price cuts — factors that could cap multiple expansion. Zacks: Margin pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Some market pieces warn Verizon may encounter technical resistance near recent highs and note CEO comments that prior price cuts hurt customer counts — caution for momentum traders. USA Today: Price cuts cost customers

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.1% during the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 20,752 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,549 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the second quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 10,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 16.9% in the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 148,878 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,442,000 after acquiring an additional 21,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 271,947 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,767,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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.