Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Increased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,978,999 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 195,800 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $570,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 335,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,761,000 after buying an additional 13,787 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,665,000 after acquiring an additional 46,699 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,915 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,667,402 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $161,182,000 after acquiring an additional 99,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 378.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 74,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.2%

VZ opened at $49.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $210.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.33. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $50.47.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon-backed Aduna hit a major milestone as the leading provider of U.S. network APIs, giving Verizon a stronger position to sell standardized, CAMARA‑compliant network intelligence to large enterprises — a potential revenue and competitive win. Aduna Reaches Milestone as a Leading Provider of U.S. Network APIs
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon closed its Frontier assets deal and launched a transformation focused on expanding fiber, cutting costs and reshaping enterprise services — management says this could deliver several billion in annual savings and scale fiber reach, supporting longer‑term margin improvement. Verizon Reshapes Fiber, Costs And Enterprise Services With Frontier And Aduna
• Positive Sentiment: NJIT announced an expanded, Verizon‑supported AI and cybersecurity workforce training program (no‑cost to eligible residents), which boosts Verizon’s public positioning on talent development for 5G/AI services and could help with hiring/retention in AI and network security roles. NJIT to Launch Expanded AI and Cybersecurity Workforce Training in Partnership with Verizon
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry and analyst pieces (Zacks, MWC coverage, 5G market reports) highlight Verizon’s value metrics and role in 5G/edge opportunities; useful for sentiment but not immediate catalysts. Here’s Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader telecom ecosystem stories — HCLTech’s AI‑native telecom focus at MWC and a growing 5G smart‑stadium market — underscore secular demand for Verizon’s network services but are industry-level rather than firm-specific catalysts. HCLTech to drive dialogues on AI-native future of telecom industry at MWC 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 VZ shares on Feb. 24 for roughly $9.9M — a large disclosed insider sale that can raise investor concerns about insider confidence or be interpreted as routine liquidity. Hans Erik Vestberg Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~34.8% in February to ~148.3M shares (about 3.5% of float), which increases downward pressure risk and could amplify volatility if sentiment shifts. (Source: short‑interest update provided in filings/news aggregation.)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

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.