Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 57,557 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 920,341 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 57,557 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.6% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $46,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.6% during the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,821 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 27,876 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 4,975 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 153,514 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,706,000 after purchasing an additional 14,106 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $197,000. Finally, MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH now owns 98,012 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,920,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised several of its Verizon earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027, including FY2027 EPS to $5.40 from $5.31, suggesting improved profit expectations for the wireless carrier.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is drawing attention as a dividend stock, with multiple articles highlighting its nearly 7% yield and positioning it as a potential income play for investors seeking steady cash flow.
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is expanding into connected-car services through a BMW and KDDI partnership, which could support longer-term growth in 5G and IoT-related revenue. BMW (XTRA:BMW) Launches U.S. Connected Car Service With Verizon And KDDI
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage continue to frame Verizon as a value/income stock, with some pieces arguing the shares may be undervalued relative to earnings power and upcoming results.
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank cut Verizon’s price target to $51.50 from $54.50, signaling less upside than before despite keeping an outperform view.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern over SpaceX’s Starlink remains a drag on telecom stocks, with several reports noting that competition fears have pressured Verizon and peers.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Verizon is preparing another round of layoffs and cost cuts may raise questions about growth and execution, even if the moves are aimed at improving efficiency.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.