Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,069,605 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 69,100 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 0.9% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $140,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 34,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about 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

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.73. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.68 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be given 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 presently 72.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday. Arete Research reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,238. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.