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

Morningstar Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 40.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 54,024 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 11,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 5,614 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 66,504 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,339,000 after buying an additional 8,095 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 11,940 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.9% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 94,787 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,682,000 after buying an additional 10,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keebeck Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $46.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.20. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share 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. Shareholders 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 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 69.02%.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon beat Q2 adjusted EPS estimates at $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, helped by record EBITDA margins and stronger cash generation. Verizon earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted EPS, mobility and broadband service revenue, and free cash flow, signaling management confidence in the outlook. Reuters guidance article
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon posted better-than-expected subscriber momentum, including 184,000 postpaid phone additions and more than 550,000 total mobility and broadband net adds, showing the core business is improving. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Free cash flow rose 24.4% and Verizon expanded its full-year buyback target to as much as $4.5 billion, both supportive of shareholder returns. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also announced a more than $1 billion dark fiber deal with Google for AI data centers, suggesting potential upside from infrastructure demand and additional AI-related contracts. Reuters Google deal article
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue came in below Wall Street expectations and was slightly lower year over year, so top-line pressure is still a concern. Verizon earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity was unusually heavy, with traders buying more call options than normal, which may reflect speculative bullish positioning rather than fundamental news. GuruFocus earnings call highlights

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.