Danske Bank A S Sells 556,586 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Danske Bank A S lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,114,545 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 556,586 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $126,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results showed an EPS beat and management described a turnaround with stronger profitability and postpaid phone subscriber gains — the core catalyst for the rally. Verizon CEO Claims Turnaround Is Officially Underway
• Positive Sentiment: Promotional push delivered ~55K new wireless subscribers and Verizon raised FY‑26 profit guidance, directly improving near‑term revenue and margin outlook. Verizon’s promos lead to 55K new wireless subscribers; raises FY26 profit guidance
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on VZ to $52 (maintaining a Neutral rating), signaling modest upside from current levels and lending analyst support to the move higher. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer perks — bundled/discounted streaming offers — are likely helping acquisition and retention trends, supporting ARPU and churn improvements. Verizon’s Streaming Deals Let You Watch Netflix, Disney Plus and More, for Less
• Neutral Sentiment: Cydcor, a Verizon channel partner, won Verizon’s 2025 ACD Wireless Agent of the Year award — a positive PR/partner win but limited direct impact on VZ fundamentals. Cydcor Earns Verizon’s 2025 ACD Wireless Agent of the Year Award
• Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst tweak: Erste Group trimmed FY‑2027 EPS slightly (from $5.28 to $5.26) but keeps a Strong‑Buy — little near‑term impact given the tiny change. MarketBeat / Erste Group note
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation and analyst-opinion pieces revisit VZ after the Q1 surprise; useful for longer‑term positioning but not immediate catalysts. A Look At Verizon (VZ) Valuation After Strong Q1 Earnings And Subscriber Turnaround
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn that rising total debt after the Frontier acquisition could pressure income investors and increase financial risk — this is the main structural downside investors cite. The Ticking Time Bomb That Could Force Income Investors to Sell Verizon Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Competitor OXIO hired a former Verizon executive as CCO — a small talent/competitive signal that could matter in niche TaaS segments but is unlikely to shift overall VZ fundamentals. OXIO Appoints Former Verizon Executive Jeremy Bolton as Chief Commercial Officer

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $48.01 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.94 and its 200-day moving average is $44.00. The company has a market capitalization of $200.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.