Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Acquires New Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 51,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is waiving calling, texting and data charges for consumer and small-business customers affected by Washington wildfires through August 31 and has deployed a disaster-resilience connectivity vehicle. The effort could reinforce customer loyalty and Verizon’s reputation for network reliability. Verizon Helps Families Stay Connected During Washington Wildfires
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon and other telecom executives have recently argued that satellite connectivity is unlikely to materially disrupt their core businesses in the near term. Satellite service currently focuses primarily on coverage gaps and emergency connectivity, rather than replacing mainstream cellular networks. SpaceX’s Starlink Threat Sends Telecom Stocks Lower Premarket
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX plans to expand Starlink Mobile into a full-fledged wireless offering by 2027, using its satellite network and planned terrestrial assets to target consumer and enterprise customers served by Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. The prospect of additional competition raises concerns about customer losses, pricing pressure and higher promotional or network-investment costs for Verizon. Verizon Faces A New Threat As SpaceX Plans A Mobile Network
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX executives indicated that Starlink Mobile could win “quite a few” customers from the major wireless carriers. This amplified investor concerns and contributed to weakness across wireless stocks, despite uncertainty about the scale and timing of the competitive impact. SpaceX says it’s coming for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.38 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.23 and its 200 day moving average is $46.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

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.