Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 269,734 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,622,737 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 269,734 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $71,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,504,150,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,750,000 after buying an additional 6,385,197 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,130,494,000 after buying an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,009,388,000 after buying an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon struck a YouTube TV distribution deal that helps with subscriber retention and content bundling — a tangible customer-retention win that supports revenue stability. A key retention tool: Verizon stock (NYSE:VZ) notches up with YouTube TV deal
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon launched a 5G Network Slice Enhanced Internet product aimed at enterprise/AI/cloud use cases (higher uplink speeds, capped-free), which could drive higher ARPU in enterprise segments over time. VZ Introduces 5G Network Slice Solution: Will it Boost Prospects?
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital maintained a Hold rating on VZ, signaling no near-term upgrade in Street sentiment and limited catalyst from that shop. RBC Capital Keeps Their Hold Rating on Verizon (VZ)
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage is mixed — some analysts see upside (buy ratings/targets above current levels) while others are cautious, leaving sentiment conflicted. Analysts Conflicted on These Communication Services Names: Verizon (VZ) and Cars (CARS)
• Neutral Sentiment: Social and forum discussion highlights optimism about the $20B Frontier deal and 5G upgrades, but also flags concerns over a planned ~15,000 job cuts — a mixed signal that could swing sentiment based on regulatory and PR outcomes. Verizon Communications Stock (VZ) Opinions on Frontier Acquisition and Job Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut near-term EPS estimates across multiple quarters and fiscal years (Q4 2025/Q4 2026, FY2025–FY2027), lowering the earnings runway and increasing downside risk to forward guidance and valuations.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect Verizon’s upcoming fiscal Q4 report to show a single-digit profit decline, keeping pressure on the stock until the company delivers results or clearer guidance. Here’s What to Expect From Verizon Communications’ Next Earnings Report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.07. The stock has a market cap of $168.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

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.