Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 30.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 39,969 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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 is being highlighted as a potentially attractive dividend stock, with Barron’s saying now may be a good time to buy income-oriented names like VZ as yields look more compelling. Why Verizon, Clorox and More Dividend Stocks Are Flashing a Buy Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon won a new automotive connectivity contract through its KDDI partnership, becoming the U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles, which could support growth in its enterprise and IoT business. Verizon named U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles through KDDI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also flagged Verizon as a telecom name worth owning, noting its fiber and wireless expansion strategy and suggesting it may have a good setup for its next earnings report. T or VZ: Which Telecom Stock Deserves a Place in Your Portfolio?
• Positive Sentiment: Another recent report said Verizon has a strong earnings surprise history and could beat estimates again, which tends to support investor confidence ahead of results. Will Verizon (VZ) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs won asset-management mandates tied to Verizon’s retirement assets, but this is mainly a financial-services arrangement rather than an operational development for Verizon. Goldman Sachs wins $70 billion in asset management deals with Verizon, Lockheed Martin
• Neutral Sentiment: Some broader commentary on enterprise internet reliability and telecom competition, including Starlink-related pressure, may add noise to the sector outlook, but it is not a direct negative catalyst for Verizon itself. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Dow Exit Deepens Starlink Market Pressure

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.28.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.14. 27,697,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,171,120. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.97. The company has a market cap of $175.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Verizon Communications Company 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.