Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ is Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s 2nd Largest Position

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 868,862 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,082 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 6.3% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,521,000 after buying an additional 17,495 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,184,000 after buying an additional 14,862 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,196,000 after buying an additional 21,915 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,667,402 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $161,182,000 after purchasing an additional 99,400 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $89,499,000 after purchasing an additional 639,380 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent commentaries argue Verizon looks undervalued, citing its roughly 6% dividend yield, strong free-cash-flow generation, and defensive appeal in a volatile market. One note also highlights raised 2026 guidance, mid-single-digit EPS growth expectations, and robust postpaid net adds as signs of improving operating momentum. Article: Verizon: A Unique Opportunity In An Expensive Market
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focusing on Verizon’s fiber expansion, including the Frontier acquisition, which should broaden its broadband footprint and improve its competitive position versus satellite-based connectivity rivals and other wireless peers. Article: Verizon: Satellite Pessimism Overly Done – Rich Upside And Income Potential Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: A market note said Verizon rose while the broader market dipped, reinforcing its image as a defensive stock that can hold up when investors rotate toward steadier income names. Article: Verizon Communications (VZ) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2027 EPS estimate for Verizon, but the change was minimal and the firm kept a Hold rating, suggesting only a modest impact on the stock. Source: MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Other recent articles compare Verizon with AT&T and AST SpaceMobile, but these pieces are mostly relative-value discussions rather than direct catalysts for VZ. Article: VZ vs. ASTS: Which Connectivity Stock is the Better Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary warns that Verizon still faces limits to future profitability improvement, meaning investors may want to temper expectations even though the stock has defensive qualities. Article: Verizon: A Good Defensive Play In Times Of Market Exuberance

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE VZ opened at $47.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $196.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.