Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,268,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,595 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $471,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580,820 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $239,584,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,743,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $184,260,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

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

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.73. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.68 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Arete Research dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.05.

Key Headlines Impacting 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

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.