140,000 Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Arnhold LLC

Key Points

• Arnhold LLC reduced its Verizon stake by 29.8%, selling 140,000 shares in the third quarter and retaining 330,347 shares valued at approximately $15.2 million.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, exceeding estimates of $1.27, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $34.31 billion but fell short of expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.83 payout and a 6.6% yield. Analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $50.80.

Arnhold LLC decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 29.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 140,000 shares during the quarter. Arnhold LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 124,666 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,851 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 63,796 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 36,706 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares during the period. Finally, Motive Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $179.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.68 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.80.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total value of $48,928.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,446,487.68. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,900 shares of company stock valued at $469,073. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.31 per share, above the $1.27 consensus estimate. EBITDA margins improved to 40.2%, while net income increased year over year. Verizon Beats Q3 Earnings Estimates on Strong Margins, Revenues Miss
• Positive Sentiment: Wireless customer trends were notably strong. Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone subscribers—its best third-quarter result in five years—and 137,000 postpaid accounts. Broadband additions totaled 314,000. Verizon Delivers Another Record-Breaking Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 outlook for adjusted EPS, postpaid phone additions and free cash flow for the third consecutive quarter. Verizon now expects adjusted EPS of approximately $5.04 to $5.06 and free-cash-flow growth approaching 12%. Verizon Raises 2026 Outlook After Strong Postpaid Subscriber Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon signed a more than $2 billion agreement with Amazon Web Services to expand distributed computing and fiber infrastructure supporting AI workloads. The deal provides a new growth avenue beyond the mature wireless business. Verizon Lifts Outlook, Inks Amazon Deal Worth More Than $2 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said SpaceX’s proposed nationwide wireless service would require extensive land-based infrastructure and years of investment to become competitive, suggesting a longer-term rather than immediate threat. Verizon Says SpaceX Will Need Years and Major Investment
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue rose only 1.5% to $34.31 billion, missing analysts’ $34.77 billion estimate. The miss—along with reports of lower phone upgrades—overshadowed the earnings beat and raised concerns about limited top-line growth in Verizon’s mature market. Verizon Stock Falls on Revenue Miss Amid Lower Phone Upgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also remain cautious about potential disruption from SpaceX’s planned mobile network, which could increase pricing pressure and customer-acquisition costs across the wireless industry.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.