Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 838,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 64,063 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.9% of Martingale Asset Management L P’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $36,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.03.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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 Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, 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 value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.59 on Friday. The firm 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. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $45.19 and a 200 day moving average of $42.78.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors 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 5.6%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

Verizon Communications 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.