Capital Wealth Planning LLC Purchases 225,705 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Verizon by 3.8%, buying 225,705 shares to own 6,162,003 shares worth about $270.82M, making Verizon 1.9% of its portfolio and its 21st largest holding.
• Verizon beat Q4 EPS ($1.09 vs. $1.06), issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.90–$4.95, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7075 (annualized $2.83, ~5.5% yield).
• Major institutions (including Norges Bank, Capital World Investors, Vanguard and State Street) have materially increased or initiated positions—institutional ownership is ~62.06%—while company insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares (~$10.78M) last quarter.

Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,162,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 225,705 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 1.9% of Capital Wealth Planning LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Capital Wealth Planning LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Verizon Communications worth $270,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $2,504,150,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the 3rd 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. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $16,130,494,000 after buying an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,009,388,000 after buying an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4/earnings + guidance — Verizon beat Q4 EPS estimates and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.90–$4.95, reinforcing cash flow and dividend coverage that investors prize. This underpins the stock’s recent upward move and supports dividend-focused buying. MarketBeat VZ overview
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift — Oppenheimer set a new $56 price target on VZ, suggesting upside from current levels and giving investors confidence in consensus estimates and valuation support. Oppenheimer price target
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership/enterprise traction — Coverage of Kodiak AI’s milestones highlights expanded partnerships with Verizon, signaling enterprise & network monetization opportunities beyond core wireless services. That diversification can boost long-term revenue potential. Kodiak AI partnership mention
• Neutral Sentiment: Subscriber momentum — Analysts note solid postpaid phone adds and fixed wireless subscriber growth, which improve churn and lifetime value but have yet to fully translate into stronger service revenue growth. This is constructive for ARPU stability and churn metrics. Zacks subscriber growth article
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue ceiling risk — Despite subscriber gains, analysts and company commentary expect wireless service revenues to remain roughly flat near-term, which could cap share-price upside until service revenue or margin expansion resumes. Zacks revenue outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/resilience narrative — Coverage highlighting Verizon as a high-yield, U.S.-focused defensive stock has driven demand from income-focused investors amid geopolitical volatility; this supports a higher valuation multiple relative to risk-off peers. MarketBeat dividend safe-haven piece

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $51.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $216.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $45.41 and its 200 day moving average is $42.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

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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