Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its Verizon stake by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 49,713 shares and leaving it with 279,311 shares valued at about $11.4 million.
• Several large institutional investors remain heavily invested in Verizon, with Vanguard, State Street, Northern Trust, and others all reporting sizable positions. Overall, institutions own 62.06% of the company.
• Verizon’s recent news flow was mixed but leaned constructive: the FCC approved its $1 billion spectrum purchase, and the company is also pursuing debt and capital-structure moves while continuing cost cuts and layoffs.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 279,311 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 49,713 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after buying an additional 557,576 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,238,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $992,939,000 after acquiring an additional 646,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:VZ opened at $47.03 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $48.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.47. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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