Rathbones Group PLC Lowers Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Rathbones Group PLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 500,059 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 15,262 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after buying an additional 4,905,101 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,983,000 after buying an additional 2,965,033 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $48.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $201.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.21 and its 200 day moving average is $44.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced preliminary shareholder voting results from its 2026 annual meeting, with shareholders electing all nine board nominees and approving management proposals, signaling solid governance support and no signs of major shareholder unrest. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company said California SBDC named Verizon its Corporate Small Business Champion of the Year, highlighting Verizon’s small-business support and community profile, which can reinforce the brand and customer loyalty narrative. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive, with commentary pointing to Verizon’s strong dividend outlook, improving earnings momentum, and the ability to manage debt after the Frontier acquisition while still supporting buybacks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also rolled out customer-facing promotions, including a large FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket giveaway and the launch of the motorola razr 2026 on its lineup, both of which support subscriber engagement and marketing momentum. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Verizon as a top-ranked momentum or value-focused telecom stock versus peers, which may help sentiment but does not represent a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry pieces on private 5G, satellite telecom, and the SpaceX IPO filing may support the long-term wireless narrative, but they are broader sector stories rather than direct Verizon-specific news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon’s ongoing debt management remains a watch point after the Frontier deal, and the planned redemption of debt securities underscores that leverage is still part of the story even as the company works to pay it down. Article Title

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.