American Century Companies Inc. Grows Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,978,999 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 195,800 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Verizon Communications worth $570,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% during 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. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 141.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 36,139 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 21,180 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 118,288 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 4,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.7% during the second quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,933 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Verizon Communications News

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 Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $49.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $210.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.33 and a 200-day moving average of $42.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $50.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction 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 on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.