Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $24.78 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 563,901 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,510 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 3.9%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.34 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $47.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $195.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages lifted price targets and ratings (Citigroup to $50 with a Buy, Evercore to $50 Outperform, Scotiabank to $50.25, Morgan Stanley/JPMorgan to $49, RBC higher) — bolstering near-term upside expectations. Citigroup PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon reported a Q4 beat (EPS $1.09 vs $1.06 est.; revenue ~$36.4B vs ~$36.1B) and posted large wireless subscriber additions — fundamentals that support the rally. InsiderMonkey Q4/Subscriber Adds
• Positive Sentiment: Management actions: a raised quarterly dividend (new yield ~6.4%) plus headlines about cost cuts tied to the Frontier deal and a $25B buyback plan — both increase shareholder return potential. Yahoo Finance: Frontier deal & buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst-insight pieces are circulating (Globe and Mail, Zacks, AAII) parsing valuation and whether the Q4 beat merits portfolio re‑positioning — useful reading but not an immediate catalyst. Globe and Mail analyst insights
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s stock is moving with the S&P 500 Communications Index — some of today’s move reflects sector flows rather than company-specific news. Kalkine Media
• Negative Sentiment: Senator Maria Cantwell said Verizon (and AT&T) are blocking release of key Salt Typhoon security assessment reports and called for CEOs to testify — this raises regulatory and reputational risk that investors will watch closely. Reuters: Senator on Salt Typhoon
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentaries flag margin pressure from heavy 5G and fiber investment, price lock dynamics and the potential for customer losses tied to prior price cuts — factors that could cap multiple expansion. Zacks: Margin pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Some market pieces warn Verizon may encounter technical resistance near recent highs and note CEO comments that prior price cuts hurt customer counts — caution for momentum traders. USA Today: Price cuts cost customers

About Verizon Communications

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.