Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 62,624 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its Verizon stake by 15.1%, selling 62,624 shares and leaving it with 351,616 shares valued at about $15.45 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — SVP Mary‑Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares and Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares; insiders sold 218,148 shares last quarter (~$10.78M).
• Verizon raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7075 (annual $2.83, ~5.6% yield), reported a Q4 beat and set FY26 EPS guidance of $4.90–4.95, while analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $50.03 target.

Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 351,616 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 62,624 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hudock Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Camden National Bank boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $213.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.19 and a 200-day moving average of $42.78. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.41.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted outlook and price targets—Oppenheimer raised its price target to $56 with an "outperform" call, backing upside vs. current levels. Oppenheimer Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded VZ to Sector Outperform, citing the shares as cheap at current levels—another boost to investor sentiment. Scotiabank Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain supportive: Q4 beat on EPS and revenue, strong postpaid and broadband net adds, Frontier acquisition expanded subscriber base, and management set FY26 EPS guidance (4.90–4.95) that keeps cash-flow and dividend narratives intact. Safe Stock / Conference Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial partnerships continue to expand—Kodiak AI disclosed deeper ties with Verizon around autonomous trucking deployments, reflecting potential incremental revenue or product integration opportunities. Kodiak AI Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Several media pieces profile Verizon as a "safe" dividend stock and highlight its 20-year dividend growth and ~5% yield—this supports income-focused demand but may not drive aggressive growth buying. Dividend / Safe-Stock Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and momentum concerns: after a recent run, shares have consolidated near $50 and technical indicators (RSI) showed overbought conditions, which can cap upside in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet/liquidity metrics remain watchpoints—current and quick ratios below 1.0 and a debt-to-equity around 1.32 mean interest-rate or capex risks could pressure margins if growth slows.

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.

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