Pinnacle Associates Ltd. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 279,311 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 49,713 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 buying an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after acquiring an additional 557,576 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,238,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,445 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $992,939,000 after purchasing an additional 646,537 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.
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 shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4%
Shares of VZ stock opened at $47.03 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $196.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.47.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Key Verizon Communications News
Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:
- Positive Sentiment: The FCC approved Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase from U.S. Cellular, removing a key regulatory hurdle and supporting Verizon’s efforts to expand network capacity and coverage. FCC approves Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase
- Positive Sentiment: Verizon also launched a $4 billion junior subordinated notes offering and related debt exchange/tender activity, which suggests management is actively restructuring and extending its capital profile to improve financial flexibility. Verizon Strengthens Capital Structure with $4 Billion Notes
- Positive Sentiment: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile said they plan to form a joint venture to improve rural coverage using satellite-based technology, a move that could improve service quality and reduce long-term coverage gaps. US wireless carriers to launch joint venture to address rural dead zones
- Neutral Sentiment: Verizon announced additional layoffs as part of a broader cost-cutting and AI automation push, which may help margins but also signals ongoing restructuring pressure. Verizon Announces New Layoffs as Cost-Cutting Continues Into 2026
- Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains around Verizon’s heavy debt load and the need for repeated capital-structure changes, which can raise questions about balance-sheet risk even as the company refinances and reorganizes its obligations. Verizon Debt Moves Reshape Capital Structure And Investor Risk Profile
- Negative Sentiment: Some commentary also points to customer-retention pressure and plan changes that could drive churn, offsetting the more constructive news on spectrum and network expansion. Verizon’s latest phone plan change may drive away consumers
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.
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