ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Acquires Shares of 20,445 Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 20,445 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $885,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,130,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,615,075 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after buying an additional 4,205,449 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Broad analyst upgrades and price-target raises this week have pushed bullish flows and sentiment, supporting upside momentum. Shares Up After Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and capital returns look supportive: Verizon reported a Q4 beat, raised its dividend, and is executing a $25B buyback program and cost cuts — factors analysts cite for higher EPS and free-cash-flow trajectory. Seeking Alpha: Strong Momentum for 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and whether recent gains fully reflect future cash-flow strength are under debate — some coverage suggests upside remains, others urge caution on multiple expansion. Yahoo Finance: Valuation Discussion
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party/adjacent tech developments (AST SpaceMobile) are being watched for potential partnership or spectrum opportunities, but they’re not an immediate driver of Verizon’s core results. AST SpaceMobile Launch Targets
• Neutral Sentiment: An executive insider (EVP Joseph Russo) disclosed a sale of ~9,579 shares; notable but not uncommon and often judged case-by-case by investors. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership turnover: Verizon’s consumer unit CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath is stepping down as new CEO Dan Schulman pursues a turnaround — management changes can create short‑term execution risk during a transition. Reuters: Consumer Division Head Departing WSJ: CEO Step-Down
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/competitive friction: Verizon sued T‑Mobile alleging false advertising around savings claims — could be a distraction and bring litigation costs or escalate competitive responses. Reuters: Verizon Sues T-Mobile
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/reputational risk: reporting and political scrutiny (e.g., calls to release Salt Typhoon security assessments) could create additional oversight or disclosure requirements investors will monitor. Reuters: Senator on Security Assessment

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $47.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $47.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.72.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.02.

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.