Legal & General Group Plc Buys 1,203,445 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,203,445 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,238,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.28.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded Verizon from “sector perform” to “sector outperform” and raised its price target to $54.50, signaling analyst confidence and providing upside near-term pressure support. Scotiabank upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street note: recent analyst attention and upgrades (cited by 247WallStreet) put Verizon back on analysts’ radars, which can attract flows from institutional investors and help the stock recover. Verizon and ITT Are on Analysts’ Radar
• Neutral Sentiment: Promotion activity tied to the Samsung Galaxy S26 rollout has increased industry-wide handset promotions; this raises competition for new activations and trade-in incentives — a potential margin/headline risk for carriers but not an immediate earnings shock. Samsung Galaxy S26 promotion wars
• Neutral Sentiment: Morning analyst research roundups included Verizon among many names being re-rated; this increases visibility but results will depend on follow-through from funds and whether upgrades translate into buying. Monday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls
• Negative Sentiment: Headline: Zacks flagged a decline in VZ versus a stronger market — reflecting that broader market rotation and negative macro headlines are pressuring the share price despite company fundamentals. Verizon stock sinks as market gains
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/insider-connected selling reported (Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse unloaded shares) can create short-term headline pressure and raises governance/flow questions for some investors. Shares unloaded — Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE VZ opened at $50.41 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $212.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.30.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’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, analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.