Midwest Trust Co Reduces Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Midwest Trust Co lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 561,221 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,241 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pandora Wealth Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 297.2% in the fourth quarter. Pandora Wealth Inc. now owns 6,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 4,532 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 134,188 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,465,000 after acquiring an additional 38,335 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 9,578 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 40,242 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RB Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 15,934 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon will have CEO Dan Schulman speak at two upcoming investor conferences, giving management a chance to outline strategy, answer questions on the business outlook, and potentially reinforce confidence in the company’s execution. Verizon to Speak at Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Verizon to $4.96 from $4.92, signaling slightly better earnings expectations and suggesting analysts see stable fundamentals ahead. Verizon Communications (VZ) Surged from Excellent Execution
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s broader fiber expansion and buyback plans continue to support the investment case, as the company now has a larger fiber footprint and a $25 billion repurchase authorization that can help offset share dilution and support per-share metrics. Verizon Weighs Frontier Fiber Expansion Against Buybacks And Cost Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon also confirmed a few hundred job cuts as part of an ongoing operational revamp. The move supports cost discipline, but it is not large enough on its own to materially change the near-term earnings outlook. Verizon cutting a few hundred jobs nationwide

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $47.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $197.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.20. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.