New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,461,083 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 76,874 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $140,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 827 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $48.01 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.94 and its 200 day moving average is $44.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.69 billion, a P/E 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.