California Public Employees Retirement System Has $723.74 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,417,054 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,719,814 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.35% of Verizon Communications worth $723,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.09.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is moving to sell 274 company-owned retail stores to franchisees and cut roughly 3,000 jobs, a restructuring that could lower operating costs and improve margins over time. Reuters: Verizon to shed 274 stores, lay off another 500 corporate employees
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction has been favorable to the cost-reset story, with articles noting VZ rose as investors responded to the store shakeup and expense reduction plans. Yahoo Finance: VZ Stock Rises — Verizon Moves To Slash Costs With Major Store Shakeup
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 earnings estimate for Verizon and kept a Hold rating, suggesting only modest near-term earnings improvement. MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is expected to report earnings on Friday, which keeps investors focused on whether the restructuring and broadband growth can offset slower revenue trends. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (VZ) to Post Earnings on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are cautioning that Verizon already trades at a premium relative to peers, which could limit upside if earnings growth disappoints. Trefis: VZ Earns Its Premium Over Peers. Now What?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank also lowered its price target to $51.50, reflecting some skepticism about the pace of Verizon’s improvement. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Lowered to $51.50 at Scotiabank

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.57 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-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 business has a fifty day moving average of $45.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.07. The stock has a market cap of $181.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.02%.

Verizon Communications 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.