London & Capital Asset Management Ltd Sells 231,323 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

London & Capital Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 59.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 154,577 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 231,323 shares during the quarter. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 335,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,761,000 after acquiring an additional 13,787 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,665,000 after purchasing an additional 46,699 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,196,000 after purchasing an additional 21,915 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 99,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in 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. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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.)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were 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 approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.98 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $50.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.33 and its 200 day moving average is $42.36. The company has a market cap of $210.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.88%.

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.