Stephens Inc. AR Sells 41,424 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 257,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 41,424 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after acquiring an additional 557,576 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,238,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,445 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $992,939,000 after acquiring an additional 646,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FCC approved Verizon’s $1 billion purchase of spectrum assets from U.S. Cellular, a move that should expand Verizon’s network capacity and coverage and strengthen its competitive position. FCC approves Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon joined AT&T and T-Mobile in a proposed satellite-based joint venture aimed at closing rural wireless dead zones, which could improve service quality, coverage reliability, and the industry’s long-term growth narrative. Verizon Joins Rivals On Satellite Venture Reshaping Coverage And Investor Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon closed a $4 billion junior subordinated notes offering, which was framed as strengthening its capital structure and supporting refinancing/funding flexibility. Verizon Strengthens Capital Structure with $4 Billion Notes
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish piece highlighted Verizon as one of 2026’s top defensive picks, citing undervaluation, a well-covered dividend, and potential upside over the next year. Why Verizon Is One of Our Top Defensive Picks In 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on Verizon’s competitive position versus T-Mobile, customer retention, and a customer-facing website blocking issue; these are more mixed in nature and do not clearly change the near-term investment case. T-Mobile vs. Verizon: Is It Time to Choose a New Carrier?
• Negative Sentiment: A report on new layoffs suggests Verizon is still pushing hard on cost cuts and restructuring, which may help margins but can also signal pressure on operations and demand. Verizon Announces New Layoffs as Cost-Cutting Continues Into 2026
• Negative Sentiment: One article warned that Verizon’s latest phone plan changes could push away customers, reinforcing concerns about churn in a highly competitive wireless market. Verizon’s latest phone plan change may drive away consumers

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.46 and a 200 day moving average of $44.48. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.