Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 150,543 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,901,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 150,543 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $199,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th 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. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,989,427,000 after buying an additional 557,576 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd 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. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $992,939,000 after acquiring an additional 646,537 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% 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 Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $47.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.91 and a 200-day moving average of $44.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The stock has a market cap of $197.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded 5G Frontline network slice broadens mission?critical addressable market (first responders, more devices), reinforcing Verizon’s push into higher?value public?sector and enterprise use cases. Verizon Extends 5G Frontline Access As Valuation Gap Draws Attention
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive — “Moderate Buy” consensus from brokerages supports upside expectations from the street. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst takeaways from Verizon’s Q1 call highlighted improved postpaid phone adds, lower acquisition/retention costs and management’s shift toward durable recurring revenue — factors that underpinned the recent positive market reaction to results. 5 Revealing Analyst Questions From Verizon’s Q1 Earnings Call
• Positive Sentiment: Value investors are being reminded of Verizon’s attractively low multiple and steady dividend (high yield vs. peers), which supports long?term buy arguments amid modest growth. Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating — a neutral stance that suggests limited near?term catalyst from this particular analyst action. Finviz
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces comparing Verizon’s dividend to peers (e.g., Nike) highlight Verizon’s strong adjusted earnings growth and yield — useful for income investors but not an immediate stock catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling (roughly US$12m sold over the past year) can signal management/insider hesitancy and weighs on sentiment for some investors. Verizon Communications Insiders Sold US$12m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation debate persists: some analysts view VZ as cheap on multiples but raise structural concerns (mix shift, secular wireless trends), which can cap multiple expansion. Verizon Stock: Cheap Multiple, Complicated Story

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.