Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Lessened by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,104,651 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,153 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $105,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,286,423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Finally, 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 period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon beat Q2 adjusted EPS estimates at $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, helped by record EBITDA margins and stronger cash generation. Verizon earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted EPS, mobility and broadband service revenue, and free cash flow, signaling management confidence in the outlook. Reuters guidance article
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon posted better-than-expected subscriber momentum, including 184,000 postpaid phone additions and more than 550,000 total mobility and broadband net adds, showing the core business is improving. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Free cash flow rose 24.4% and Verizon expanded its full-year buyback target to as much as $4.5 billion, both supportive of shareholder returns. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also announced a more than $1 billion dark fiber deal with Google for AI data centers, suggesting potential upside from infrastructure demand and additional AI-related contracts. Reuters Google deal article
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue came in below Wall Street expectations and was slightly lower year over year, so top-line pressure is still a concern. Verizon earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity was unusually heavy, with traders buying more call options than normal, which may reflect speculative bullish positioning rather than fundamental news. GuruFocus earnings call highlights

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.34 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 current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $193.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.20.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.02%.

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.