Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Buys 22,380 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its Verizon stake by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 22,380 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 133,276 shares worth about $5.43 million.
• Verizon continues to attract interest from other institutional investors, and institutions now own 62.06% of the company’s stock. At the same time, a couple of insiders, including Director Hans Erik Vestberg, recently sold shares.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on Verizon, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $50.59. The company also beat quarterly EPS estimates and reported year-over-year revenue growth of 2.7%.

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 133,276 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 22,380 shares during the quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $14,761,000 after acquiring an additional 13,787 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $13,521,000 after acquiring an additional 17,495 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $16,665,000 after acquiring an additional 46,699 shares during the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 14,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Verizon Communications News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on Verizon Communications 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $46.44 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.46 and a 200 day moving average of $44.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during 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 period 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

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.

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