Machina Capital S.A.S. Cuts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Machina Capital S.A.S. lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 77.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,114 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 48,233 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Cadinha & Co. LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,046,000 after purchasing an additional 336,190 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $309,551,000 after purchasing an additional 722,559 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 378.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 74,151 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 555,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,427,000 after buying an additional 43,116 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.8% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 2,762,705 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $121,421,000 after buying an additional 151,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Verizon Communications News

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Barclays began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE VZ opened at $47.13 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.72. The stock has a market cap 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 (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

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.