Payden & Rygel Sells 276,700 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Payden & Rygel lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 91.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,830 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 276,700 shares during the quarter. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 34,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.6%

VZ opened at $44.81 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.73. 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 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 one year low of $38.68 and a one year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 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 net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting 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

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other 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 transaction of $47,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,238. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Freedom Broker upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.05.

About Verizon Communications

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.