Lawood & Co. Acquires New Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Lawood & Co. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 35,391 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,441,000. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.4% of Lawood & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after buying an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,238,866,000 after buying an additional 1,203,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $992,939,000 after buying an additional 646,537 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FCC approved Verizon’s $1 billion purchase of spectrum assets from U.S. Cellular, a move that should expand Verizon’s network capacity and coverage and strengthen its competitive position. FCC approves Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon joined AT&T and T-Mobile in a proposed satellite-based joint venture aimed at closing rural wireless dead zones, which could improve service quality, coverage reliability, and the industry’s long-term growth narrative. Verizon Joins Rivals On Satellite Venture Reshaping Coverage And Investor Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon closed a $4 billion junior subordinated notes offering, which was framed as strengthening its capital structure and supporting refinancing/funding flexibility. Verizon Strengthens Capital Structure with $4 Billion Notes
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish piece highlighted Verizon as one of 2026’s top defensive picks, citing undervaluation, a well-covered dividend, and potential upside over the next year. Why Verizon Is One of Our Top Defensive Picks In 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on Verizon’s competitive position versus T-Mobile, customer retention, and a customer-facing website blocking issue; these are more mixed in nature and do not clearly change the near-term investment case. T-Mobile vs. Verizon: Is It Time to Choose a New Carrier?
• Negative Sentiment: A report on new layoffs suggests Verizon is still pushing hard on cost cuts and restructuring, which may help margins but can also signal pressure on operations and demand. Verizon Announces New Layoffs as Cost-Cutting Continues Into 2026
• Negative Sentiment: One article warned that Verizon’s latest phone plan changes could push away customers, reinforcing concerns about churn in a highly competitive wireless market. Verizon’s latest phone plan change may drive away consumers

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $46.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.46 and its 200-day moving average is $44.48. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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 company 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%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.