Insider Selling: Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) CEO Sells $47,300.00 in Stock

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kyle Malady also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 20th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total transaction of $48,928.00.
• On Tuesday, October 13th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.93, for a total value of $47,223.00.
• On Tuesday, October 6th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.75, for a total value of $50,325.00.
• On Tuesday, September 29th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.40, for a total transaction of $51,040.00.
• On Tuesday, September 22nd, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $52,415.00.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total transaction of $54,978.00.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.50, for a total transaction of $55,550.00.
• On Tuesday, August 25th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of VZ opened at $44.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.73. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.68 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $186.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.19%.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Better earnings and higher guidance: Verizon reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year. Growth in postpaid phone additions and broadband, lower promotional spending and margin expansion helped support an increase to the company’s 2026 outlook. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal remains strong: Verizon’s dividend yield is above 6%, the company has raised its payout for 20 consecutive years, and dividends consumed approximately 49% of recent free cash flow. This supports the view that the payout is financially sustainable despite Verizon’s substantial debt load. Verizon dividend analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and supplier investment: Freedom Broker upgraded VZ from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to $55. Separately, Verizon announced a $5 billion, five-year commitment to U.S. small-business suppliers, which could strengthen procurement relationships and support its network expansion ecosystem. Freedom Broker upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX competition remains a long-term issue: Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said a fully competitive SpaceX wireless network could take years and require enormous investment. Verizon remains open to a Starlink partnership, but not one that would enable direct competition through Verizon’s infrastructure. Verizon CEO on Starlink partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Countervailing concerns: Several firms, including Barclays, Daiwa, Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen, lowered their price targets. Investors are also watching reports of declining phone upgrades, while CEO Kyle Malady’s recurring Rule 10b5-1 stock sales may weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon phone upgrade trend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Arete Research decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580,820 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,743,274,000 after buying an additional 5,075,794 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,643,339,000 after buying an additional 1,972,634 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.7% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $884,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.