Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 474,573 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 126,991 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $49.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $50.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $210.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’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. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon-backed Aduna hit a major milestone as the leading provider of U.S. network APIs, giving Verizon a stronger position to sell standardized, CAMARA‑compliant network intelligence to large enterprises — a potential revenue and competitive win. Aduna Reaches Milestone as a Leading Provider of U.S. Network APIs
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon closed its Frontier assets deal and launched a transformation focused on expanding fiber, cutting costs and reshaping enterprise services — management says this could deliver several billion in annual savings and scale fiber reach, supporting longer‑term margin improvement. Verizon Reshapes Fiber, Costs And Enterprise Services With Frontier And Aduna
• Positive Sentiment: NJIT announced an expanded, Verizon‑supported AI and cybersecurity workforce training program (no‑cost to eligible residents), which boosts Verizon’s public positioning on talent development for 5G/AI services and could help with hiring/retention in AI and network security roles. NJIT to Launch Expanded AI and Cybersecurity Workforce Training in Partnership with Verizon
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry and analyst pieces (Zacks, MWC coverage, 5G market reports) highlight Verizon’s value metrics and role in 5G/edge opportunities; useful for sentiment but not immediate catalysts. Here’s Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader telecom ecosystem stories — HCLTech’s AI‑native telecom focus at MWC and a growing 5G smart‑stadium market — underscore secular demand for Verizon’s network services but are industry-level rather than firm-specific catalysts. HCLTech to drive dialogues on AI-native future of telecom industry at MWC 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 VZ shares on Feb. 24 for roughly $9.9M — a large disclosed insider sale that can raise investor concerns about insider confidence or be interpreted as routine liquidity. Hans Erik Vestberg Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~34.8% in February to ~148.3M shares (about 3.5% of float), which increases downward pressure risk and could amplify volatility if sentiment shifts. (Source: short‑interest update provided in filings/news aggregation.)

Verizon Communications Company 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.