Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 916.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,939 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,075 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after purchasing an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced pricing terms for its tender offers and consent solicitations across 20 series of notes, part of an effort to refinance or retire debt and streamline its capital structure. Markets often view these moves as supportive of future cash flow flexibility. Verizon announces pricing terms of its tender offers and consent solicitations for 20 series of Verizon and certain of its subsidiaries’ notes
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also reported early results and extended the early participation date on its debt exchange/tender programs, suggesting solid holder participation and continued progress on liability management. Verizon announces extension of early participation date and early results of its private exchange offers and consent solicitations for 11 series of notes open to certain investors
• Positive Sentiment: Array Digital Infrastructure completed the sale of select spectrum assets to Verizon for $1.0 billion, reinforcing Verizon’s long-term network investment strategy and spectrum position. Array completes sale of select spectrum assets to Verizon for 1.0 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate article highlighted Verizon as a high-yield dividend stock with attractive valuation and growing cash flow, which supports the investment case but is not a new company-specific catalyst. Verizon’s Growing Cash Flow Continues to Support its Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Another piece said Verizon has pulled back recently but remains up over the past year, framing the stock as potentially undervalued after mixed earnings signals rather than indicating a fresh operational problem. Assessing Verizon VZ Valuation After Recent Pullback And Mixed Earnings Signals

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $47.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.89 and a 200 day moving average of $45.16.

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

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.