MADDEN SECURITIES Corp Sells 17,470 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,386 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 17,470 shares during the period. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 335,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,761,000 after purchasing an additional 13,787 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,521,000 after purchasing an additional 17,495 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,665,000 after purchasing an additional 46,699 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,862 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,196,000 after purchasing an additional 21,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE VZ opened at $47.21 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.81 and a 200-day moving average of $44.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its 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 company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Company 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.