Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 16,841 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 127,268 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,841 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,504,150,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after buying an additional 4,615,075 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after buying an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4,274.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,917,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $82,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $212.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.30. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.62. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded Verizon from “sector perform” to “sector outperform” and raised its price target to $54.50, signaling analyst confidence and providing upside near-term pressure support. Scotiabank upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street note: recent analyst attention and upgrades (cited by 247WallStreet) put Verizon back on analysts’ radars, which can attract flows from institutional investors and help the stock recover. Verizon and ITT Are on Analysts’ Radar
• Neutral Sentiment: Promotion activity tied to the Samsung Galaxy S26 rollout has increased industry-wide handset promotions; this raises competition for new activations and trade-in incentives — a potential margin/headline risk for carriers but not an immediate earnings shock. Samsung Galaxy S26 promotion wars
• Neutral Sentiment: Morning analyst research roundups included Verizon among many names being re-rated; this increases visibility but results will depend on follow-through from funds and whether upgrades translate into buying. Monday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls
• Negative Sentiment: Headline: Zacks flagged a decline in VZ versus a stronger market — reflecting that broader market rotation and negative macro headlines are pressuring the share price despite company fundamentals. Verizon stock sinks as market gains
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/insider-connected selling reported (Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse unloaded shares) can create short-term headline pressure and raises governance/flow questions for some investors. Shares unloaded — Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 approximately $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. 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 for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.28.

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.