Income Insurance Ltd Buys New Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Income Insurance Ltd bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,630 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $1,989,427,000 after purchasing an additional 557,576 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake 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 worth $1,238,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,445 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake 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 worth $992,939,000 after purchasing an additional 646,537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $47.21 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 market cap of $197.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.20.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon will have CEO Dan Schulman speak at two upcoming investor conferences, giving management a chance to outline strategy, answer questions on the business outlook, and potentially reinforce confidence in the company’s execution. Verizon to Speak at Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Verizon to $4.96 from $4.92, signaling slightly better earnings expectations and suggesting analysts see stable fundamentals ahead. Verizon Communications (VZ) Surged from Excellent Execution
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s broader fiber expansion and buyback plans continue to support the investment case, as the company now has a larger fiber footprint and a $25 billion repurchase authorization that can help offset share dilution and support per-share metrics. Verizon Weighs Frontier Fiber Expansion Against Buybacks And Cost Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon also confirmed a few hundred job cuts as part of an ongoing operational revamp. The move supports cost discipline, but it is not large enough on its own to materially change the near-term earnings outlook. Verizon cutting a few hundred jobs nationwide

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.