Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 64,063 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 838,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 64,063 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.9% of Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $36,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third 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 period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in 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 purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted outlook and price targets—Oppenheimer raised its price target to $56 with an “outperform” call, backing upside vs. current levels. Oppenheimer Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded VZ to Sector Outperform, citing the shares as cheap at current levels—another boost to investor sentiment. Scotiabank Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain supportive: Q4 beat on EPS and revenue, strong postpaid and broadband net adds, Frontier acquisition expanded subscriber base, and management set FY26 EPS guidance (4.90–4.95) that keeps cash-flow and dividend narratives intact. Safe Stock / Conference Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial partnerships continue to expand—Kodiak AI disclosed deeper ties with Verizon around autonomous trucking deployments, reflecting potential incremental revenue or product integration opportunities. Kodiak AI Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Several media pieces profile Verizon as a “safe” dividend stock and highlight its 20-year dividend growth and ~5% yield—this supports income-focused demand but may not drive aggressive growth buying. Dividend / Safe-Stock Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and momentum concerns: after a recent run, shares have consolidated near $50 and technical indicators (RSI) showed overbought conditions, which can cap upside in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet/liquidity metrics remain watchpoints—current and quick ratios below 1.0 and a debt-to-equity around 1.32 mean interest-rate or capex risks could pressure margins if growth slows.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2%

VZ stock opened at $50.59 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $213.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $45.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.78.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company 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%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.15%.

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.