First Bank & Trust Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

First Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,504,150,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905,101 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $161,346,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.32.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.36 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $212.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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 dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

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.