Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $4.11 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 63.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,955 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 176,206 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,989,427,000 after purchasing an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,238,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 surprise and subscriber momentum — Verizon reported an EPS beat and posted first-quarter postpaid phone subscriber gains, which investors view as evidence the turnaround is gaining traction; that momentum is being cited in valuation write-ups and helped lift sentiment. A Look At Verizon (VZ) Valuation After Strong Q1 Earnings And Subscriber Turnaround
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target bump — JPMorgan raised its VZ price target from $49 to $52 (while keeping a neutral rating), signaling incremental upside in analyst expectations and providing a short-term technical catalyst. JPMorgan raises VZ price target
• Positive Sentiment: Partner/network recognition — Verizon’s partner Cydcor won Verizon’s 2025 ACD Wireless Agent of the Year award, reinforcing channel strength and sales execution at the retail/agent level. Cydcor Earns Verizon’s 2025 ACD Wireless Agent of the Year Award
• Neutral Sentiment: Trending attention / retail interest — Zacks and other outlets note increased user interest in VZ; trending status can boost volume and volatility but is not a guarantee of sustained direction. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Adjacency to growth markets — Verizon is listed among players in industry reports (e.g., video telematics), indicating optionality beyond consumer wireless if execution in enterprise/commercial products scales. North America and Europe Video Telematics Market Research Report 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure from T‑Mobile — comparisons and service/perk analyses highlight T‑Mobile’s strengths and its broadband expansion, which could pressure pricing and share in both wireless and home broadband segments. T-Mobile vs. Verizon: Which Big Phone Carrier Works Best for You?
• Negative Sentiment: T‑Mobile’s broadband blitz — T‑Mobile’s capital-efficient push into broadband is described as a direct challenge to incumbents and could create longer-term margin and market-share pressure for Verizon. T-Mobile’s Broadband Blitz Puts Cable on Notice (VZ)
• Negative Sentiment: Debt and income-investor risk — commentary (e.g., The Motley Fool) flags rising leverage after the Frontier acquisition as a potential “time bomb” for income investors, which could limit upside multiple expansion and increase sensitivity to interest rates. The Ticking Time Bomb That Could Force Income Investors to Sell Verizon Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Minor analyst EPS trim — Erste Group slightly cut FY2027 EPS estimates for Verizon, a small reminder that forecasts remain sensitive to revenue mix and legacy/merger-related costs. Erste Group trims VZ FY2027 EPS estimate

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $48.17 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $201.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

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.