QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 43,313 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 836,939 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 43,313 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 74.6% during the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 37.4% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on shares of 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 increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.97.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI investment strengthens Verizon’s growth and public-policy positioning. Verizon announced a $70 million nationwide AI-skilling initiative for job seekers, small businesses and educators, partnering with organizations including Goodwill, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI. The company also committed $1 million to Liberty Science Center to expand public access to AI education. While the program is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings, it could support Verizon’s brand, workforce strategy and relationships with business customers. Verizon to invest $70 million in AI training effort
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation and telecom expansion provide support. One recent analysis estimated VZ could be roughly 6% undervalued as its 5G, 6G research, device promotions and other product initiatives expand. Verizon’s low-teen price-to-earnings ratio and dividend appeal may attract income-oriented investors, although recent share-price momentum has been weak. Verizon Communications could be 6% undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO stock sale was limited and pre-planned. CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares for approximately $52,415 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transaction reduced his direct holdings by about 1%, making it a limited signal about management’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Potential spectrum spending could pressure free cash flow. Verizon is viewed as a leading bidder in a planned 2027 spectrum auction, with possible spending of up to $20 billion. Additional spectrum could improve long-term network capacity, but the acquisition would increase capital requirements and leverage risk.
• Negative Sentiment: A fiber outage highlighted reliability and reputational risks. A contractor reportedly cut a Verizon fiber cable in New Jersey, disrupting a backup data feed used by air-traffic controllers and contributing to flight delays. The incident appears temporary, but it may increase scrutiny of network resilience and service continuity. Verizon says contractor cut fiber cable

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $52,415.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 104,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,973,039.90. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,500 shares of company stock valued at $271,557. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.51. The stock had a trading volume of 20,617,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,398,910. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.47. 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 company has a market capitalization of $193.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.