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

Xponance Inc. lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing 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).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines 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)

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents 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 insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7%

VZ opened at $48.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $206.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 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 fifty day moving average is $43.13 and its 200 day moving average is $42.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $50.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.02.

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.