579,446 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Bought by Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Verizon, buying 579,446 shares valued at about $23.6 million.
• Several other large institutional investors, including Vanguard and State Street, also increased their Verizon holdings, and institutions now own 62.06% of the company.
• Verizon’s recent earnings beat analysts’ EPS expectations, and the company maintained FY 2026 guidance of $4.95 to $4.99 per share, even as concerns remain about its heavy debt load and ongoing restructuring.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 579,446 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $23,601,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Verizon Communications by 51.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $637,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905,101 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $385,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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: The FCC approved Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase from U.S. Cellular, removing a key regulatory hurdle and supporting Verizon’s efforts to expand network capacity and coverage. FCC approves Verizon's $1 billion spectrum purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also launched a $4 billion junior subordinated notes offering and related debt exchange/tender activity, which suggests management is actively restructuring and extending its capital profile to improve financial flexibility. Verizon Strengthens Capital Structure with $4 Billion Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile said they plan to form a joint venture to improve rural coverage using satellite-based technology, a move that could improve service quality and reduce long-term coverage gaps. US wireless carriers to launch joint venture to address rural dead zones
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon announced additional layoffs as part of a broader cost-cutting and AI automation push, which may help margins but also signals ongoing restructuring pressure. Verizon Announces New Layoffs as Cost-Cutting Continues Into 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains around Verizon’s heavy debt load and the need for repeated capital-structure changes, which can raise questions about balance-sheet risk even as the company refinances and reorganizes its obligations. Verizon Debt Moves Reshape Capital Structure And Investor Risk Profile
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary also points to customer-retention pressure and plan changes that could drive churn, offsetting the more constructive news on spectrum and network expansion. Verizon’s latest phone plan change may drive away consumers

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4%

VZ opened at $47.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $196.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $48.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications 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.

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