US Bancorp DE Sells 88,527 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

US Bancorp DE decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,769,161 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 88,527 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $77,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,504,150,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,009,388,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205,449 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4,274.6% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,917,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $82,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873,675 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $48.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.13 and its 200 day moving average is $42.33. 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 company has a market cap of $206.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $50.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid 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 is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.88%.

Verizon Communications News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Closed Frontier asset deal and transformation plan — Verizon has completed the Frontier asset acquisition, expanded its fiber footprint, announced multi‑billion annual cost‑savings targets and a workforce/operational reshaping that should improve margins over time. Verizon Reshapes Fiber, Costs And Enterprise Services With Frontier And Aduna
• Positive Sentiment: Aduna milestone improves enterprise product positioning — Aduna (backed by Verizon, AT&T, T‑Mobile) says it now offers CAMARA‑compliant network API coverage across the U.S., helping Verizon sell standardized network intelligence and fraud prevention to large customers. This supports revenue and enterprise growth assumptions. Aduna Reaches Milestone as a Leading Provider of U.S. Network APIs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/market commentary highlights value and defensive characteristics — recent pieces point to VZ as a value/dividend play and note outperformance vs. peers, supporting buy-side interest from income and value investors. Here’s Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming investor forum — CEO scheduled to speak at Morgan Stanley TMT conference on March 2; could provide additional forward guidance or cadence clarity. Verizon to speak at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 2
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector technology and 5G tailwinds — industry reports and MWC activity (AI‑native telecom messaging, 5G stadium opportunity) support long‑term demand for network services but are gradual drivers. HCLTech to drive dialogues on AI-native future of telecom industry at MWC 2026 Fifth Generation (5G)-Powered Smart Stadiums Analysis Report
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/director sale — Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares (about $9.9M) at roughly $49.61 on Feb. 24, reducing his stake materially; large insider sales can trigger near‑term selling and signal liquidity needs. Hans Erik Vestberg insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest — short interest rose ~34.8% in February to ~148.3M shares (~3.5% of float), increasing downside pressure and the potential for more aggressive selling if sentiment weakens. (No article link)

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications 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 transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.