Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 341,803 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,544 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 341,803 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hudock Inc. lifted 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 during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Camden National Bank raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon-backed Aduna hit a major milestone as the leading provider of U.S. network APIs, giving Verizon a stronger position to sell standardized, CAMARA?compliant network intelligence to large enterprises — a potential revenue and competitive win. Aduna Reaches Milestone as a Leading Provider of U.S. Network APIs
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon closed its Frontier assets deal and launched a transformation focused on expanding fiber, cutting costs and reshaping enterprise services — management says this could deliver several billion in annual savings and scale fiber reach, supporting longer?term margin improvement. Verizon Reshapes Fiber, Costs And Enterprise Services With Frontier And Aduna
• Positive Sentiment: NJIT announced an expanded, Verizon?supported AI and cybersecurity workforce training program (no?cost to eligible residents), which boosts Verizon’s public positioning on talent development for 5G/AI services and could help with hiring/retention in AI and network security roles. NJIT to Launch Expanded AI and Cybersecurity Workforce Training in Partnership with Verizon
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry and analyst pieces (Zacks, MWC coverage, 5G market reports) highlight Verizon’s value metrics and role in 5G/edge opportunities; useful for sentiment but not immediate catalysts. Here’s Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader telecom ecosystem stories — HCLTech’s AI?native telecom focus at MWC and a growing 5G smart?stadium market — underscore secular demand for Verizon’s network services but are industry-level rather than firm-specific catalysts. HCLTech to drive dialogues on AI-native future of telecom industry at MWC 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 VZ shares on Feb. 24 for roughly $9.9M — a large disclosed insider sale that can raise investor concerns about insider confidence or be interpreted as routine liquidity. Hans Erik Vestberg Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~34.8% in February to ~148.3M shares (about 3.5% of float), which increases downward pressure risk and could amplify volatility if sentiment shifts. (Source: short?interest update provided in filings/news aggregation.)

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE VZ opened at $49.98 on Monday. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $210.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s 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, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 69.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

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.