Xponance Inc. Sells 76,185 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Xponance Inc. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 612,365 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 76,185 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $26,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudock Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Camden National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $48.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.13 and a 200 day moving average of $42.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $50.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.88%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Closed Frontier asset deal and transformation plan — Verizon has completed the Frontier asset acquisition, expanded its fiber footprint, announced multi‑billion annual cost‑savings targets and a workforce/operational reshaping that should improve margins over time. Verizon Reshapes Fiber, Costs And Enterprise Services With Frontier And Aduna
• Positive Sentiment: Aduna milestone improves enterprise product positioning — Aduna (backed by Verizon, AT&T, T‑Mobile) says it now offers CAMARA‑compliant network API coverage across the U.S., helping Verizon sell standardized network intelligence and fraud prevention to large customers. This supports revenue and enterprise growth assumptions. Aduna Reaches Milestone as a Leading Provider of U.S. Network APIs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/market commentary highlights value and defensive characteristics — recent pieces point to VZ as a value/dividend play and note outperformance vs. peers, supporting buy-side interest from income and value investors. Here’s Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming investor forum — CEO scheduled to speak at Morgan Stanley TMT conference on March 2; could provide additional forward guidance or cadence clarity. Verizon to speak at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 2
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector technology and 5G tailwinds — industry reports and MWC activity (AI‑native telecom messaging, 5G stadium opportunity) support long‑term demand for network services but are gradual drivers. HCLTech to drive dialogues on AI-native future of telecom industry at MWC 2026 Fifth Generation (5G)-Powered Smart Stadiums Analysis Report
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/director sale — Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares (about $9.9M) at roughly $49.61 on Feb. 24, reducing his stake materially; large insider sales can trigger near‑term selling and signal liquidity needs. Hans Erik Vestberg insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest — short interest rose ~34.8% in February to ~148.3M shares (~3.5% of float), increasing downside pressure and the potential for more aggressive selling if sentiment weakens. (No article link)

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.