<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lowered its stake in  Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor  owned 829,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 480,550 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $33,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Verizon Communications</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>The War Won't Last Forever: 3 Stocks That Could Lead the Recovery</li></ul><p>A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of  Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter.  Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of  Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter.  Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter.  Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of  Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the second quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,400 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter.  Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of  Verizon Communications by 4.1% during the third quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,490 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  62.06% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications</h2><p>In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Verizon Communications stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. Corporate insiders own  0.10% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Verizon Communications Price Performance</h2><ul><li>5 Baby Boomer Stock Favorites Now Trading at a Discount</li></ul><p>Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $46.06 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $192.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.62. </p><p>Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Verizon Communications Increases Dividend</h2><ul><li>5 High-Yield Stocks to Shield Your Portfolio From the Storm</li></ul><p>The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 69.88%. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a &#34;sector perform&#34; rating to a &#34;sector outperform&#34; rating and raised their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued  a Buy rating and ten have issued  a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock  has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus price target of $50.56.</p><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Verizon Communications</b></p><h2>Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications</h2><p>Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:</p><ul>   <li><span>Positive Sentiment: </span>Erste Group issued an optimistic forecast for Verizon’s upcoming earnings, which supports upside expectations for EPS and could reinforce buy-side interest. <i></i><span>Erste Group Bank Issues Optimistic Forecast for VZ Earnings</span></li>    <li><span>Positive Sentiment: </span>Unusually large call option activity (≈326k calls bought, ~300% above normal) signals speculative or hedged bullish positioning by options traders and can presage short-term upward pressure if buyers are directional. (market data)</li>    <li><span>Neutral Sentiment: </span>Analysts are slightly revising fair value estimates upward as Verizon shows subscriber progress and cost-cutting; but the shift is modest and reflects mixed views on sustainability of margins and disclosure quality. <i></i><span>How Verizon (VZ) Story Is Shifting As Cost Cuts Progress And Transparency Concerns Grow</span></li>    <li><span>Neutral Sentiment: </span>Market commentators (including Jim Cramer) note Verizon’s operational moves and new leadership as constructive; this supports sentiment but hasn’t erased headwinds from heavy spending and telecom competition. <i></i><span>Jim Cramer Says “Verizon’s Actually Got Some Game Here”</span></li>    <li><span>Negative Sentiment: </span>DBS Bank downgraded Verizon from Buy to Hold and set a $52 target, a visible analyst move that can pressure sentiment and prompt some profit-taking after the stock’s strong recent run. <i></i><span>DBS Bank Downgrades Verizon (VZ) to Hold Despite Strong Stock Performance</span></li>    <li><span>Negative Sentiment: </span>Verizon is publicly urging shareholders to reject several activist proposals (CEO/chair split, ESG-pay linkage, increased climate oversight). The proxy fight heightens governance uncertainty and could sour some institutional investors ahead of the May 21 annual meeting. <i></i><span>How Investors May Respond To Verizon (VZ) Resisting Activist Push On Governance, ESG Pay, And Climate Oversight</span></li>    <li><span>Negative Sentiment: </span>Analyst notes and coverage have spotlighted transparency and disclosure concerns alongside aggressive cost-cutting and heavy fiber/build spending — a combination that raises near-term execution and margin risk. <i></i><span>How Verizon (VZ) Story Is Shifting As Cost Cuts Progress And Transparency Concerns Grow</span></li> </ul><h2>Verizon Communications Company Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>Verizon Communications Inc <span>NYSE: VZ<span></span></span> 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.  </p><p>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.</p><h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Verizon Communications</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVZa?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVZa"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Verizon Communications Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Verizon Communications, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verizon Communications wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Verizon Communications currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Factory Mutual Insurance Co. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 36.7% in Q4, owning 829,816 shares valued at approximately $33.8 million. Other hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in Verizon. Insider transactions included significant sales by SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell and Director Hans Erik Vestberg. Verizon's stock opened at $46.06, with a 12-month range of $38.39 to $51.68. The company reported Q4 earnings of $1.09 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $36.38 billion, a 2% increase year-over-year.</p>

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Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Has $33.80 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ