Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 31.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 840,086 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 202,000 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $42,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,357,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. 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 research note on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.28.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $175.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26. 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 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.01.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

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.