Midwest Trust Co Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Midwest Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 561,221 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,241 shares during the quarter. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 51.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $637,812,000 after buying an additional 4,905,101 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $385,983,000 after buying an additional 2,965,033 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore lifted their price objective 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, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $47.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.20.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting 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

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.