Cullen Investment Group LTD. Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Cullen Investment Group LTD. reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 44.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 101,202 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 80,945 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $2,504,150,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905,101 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $161,346,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Settlement of Fractus patent suit removes a multi-quarter legal overhang tied to antenna/IP claims, improving legal and cash‑flow risk visibility for Verizon. Fractus and Verizon settle patent litigation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see the settlement positively for risk profile and dividend resiliency; commentary highlights Verizon’s fixed wireless access strategy and reduced litigation uncertainty. How Investors May Respond To Verizon (VZ) Settling Fractus Patent Dispute And Easing Legal Overhang
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target, signaling confidence in Verizon’s outlook and likely supporting buying interest after recent gains. Verizon Receives a Vote of Confidence as Goldman Sachs Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Separate analyst upgrades pushed near‑term sentiment higher; one report notes a post‑upgrade share uptick. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.3% Following Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell ~16% in March, indicating some short covering which can reduce downward pressure and support the stock. (Data reported 3/24/2026)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst fair‑value estimates nudged higher (to ~$50.76), a modest adjustment that suggests mixed but not dramatic changes to consensus valuation. How The Verizon (VZ) Investment Story Is Shifting On Costs Transparency And Fair Value Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage in broad “mega‑cap” pieces keeps Verizon on investors’ radar but doesn’t materially change fundamentals. 2 Mega-Cap Stocks Worth Your Attention and 1 We Turn Down
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positives, a headline noting the stock “sank as the market gained” captures intraday selling pressure and suggests short‑term weakness/rotation out of Verizon. Verizon Communications (VZ) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here’s Why
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious about disclosure quality and reporting changes; that ambivalence can cap upgrades and keep volatility elevated. How The Verizon (VZ) Investment Story Is Shifting On Costs Transparency And Fair Value Estimates

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1%

VZ opened at $50.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.17. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’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. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.32.

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.