Empowered Funds LLC Has $43.90 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 874,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 212,328 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $43,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,357,158,000. 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 reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.30, ahead of the $1.27 consensus estimate. Lower customer churn, reduced device-subsidy costs, and stronger broadband additions supported expectations for improved earnings and cash flow. VZ Q2 Earnings Call Signals Faster Growth From Churn Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 financial and free-cash-flow outlook after stronger subscriber trends and operating performance. The company’s robust free cash flow also continues to provide substantial coverage for its dividend, supporting Verizon’s appeal to income-focused investors. Is VZ Stock a Buy After Verizon Raises Its 2026 Financial Outlook?
• Positive Sentiment: A wireless subscriber beat, broadband growth, and expanding 5G and fiber services are strengthening Verizon’s longer-term growth profile beyond its traditional wireless business. Verizon Communications Rides a Wireless Subscriber Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s more than $1 billion dark-fiber agreement with Alphabet highlights possible demand from AI infrastructure and data connectivity. Analysts also raised price targets, including TD Cowen to $56 and Scotiabank to $52.50. Verizon May Be an AI Infrastructure Stock Hiding in Plain Sight
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Barclays, and RBC maintained neutral or equal-weight ratings despite raising targets, while several targets remain near the current trading level.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue fell year over year and missed estimates by roughly $1 billion, indicating that cost controls and subscriber gains have not yet translated into broad-based top-line growth. Verizon Structural Problems Persist
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to monitor heavy debt, substantial dividend commitments, competitive pressure, and execution risks associated with Verizon’s fiber and AI investments.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE VZ opened at $47.35 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Dbs Bank lowered Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.97.

About Verizon Communications

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.