Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 265,708 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 50,641 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after purchasing an additional 31,354 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $89,499,000 after purchasing an additional 639,380 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 697.0% during the fourth quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $19,189,000 after buying an additional 412,018 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $97,059,000 after buying an additional 316,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.3%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.44. The firm has a market cap of $192.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise their expectations for Verizon. Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $52, while TD Cowen raised its target to $56; Verizon also received an analyst upgrade. These actions reflect confidence in the company’s earnings outlook and recent operating performance. Verizon analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s investment case is being supported by fiber expansion and emerging AI infrastructure demand. Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings announced a $1.5 billion investment in Eaton Fiber to accelerate broadband deployment, while a separate analysis cited a potential $1 billion-plus Google dark-fiber deal and data-center retrofits as possible sources of higher-margin growth beginning in the second half of 2026. Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings fiber investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon remains viewed as inexpensive relative to telecom peers, trading at a significant forward-earnings discount while offering a dividend yield above 6%. However, investors are debating whether the discount represents value or reflects limited revenue growth. Recent earnings showed an EPS beat, but revenue declined year over year and missed expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: The primary pressure on VZ is concern that SpaceX could enter the U.S. wireless market by acquiring spectrum or participating in next year’s federal auction. A direct-to-mobile satellite service with dense urban coverage could intensify competition for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, prompting a broad telecom selloff. SpaceX direct mobile threat

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.