First Bank & Trust Sells 21,754 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

First Bank & Trust reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 83,164 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 21,754 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $250,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $394,000. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 53.0% during the second quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 23,393 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 8,106 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.36 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.17. 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 stock has a market cap of $212.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during 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%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

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.