Janus Henderson Group PLC Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,844,442 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 327,228 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $192,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $46.12 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $192.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise their expectations for Verizon. Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $52, while TD Cowen raised its target to $56; Verizon also received an analyst upgrade. These actions reflect confidence in the company’s earnings outlook and recent operating performance. Verizon analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s investment case is being supported by fiber expansion and emerging AI infrastructure demand. Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings announced a $1.5 billion investment in Eaton Fiber to accelerate broadband deployment, while a separate analysis cited a potential $1 billion-plus Google dark-fiber deal and data-center retrofits as possible sources of higher-margin growth beginning in the second half of 2026. Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings fiber investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon remains viewed as inexpensive relative to telecom peers, trading at a significant forward-earnings discount while offering a dividend yield above 6%. However, investors are debating whether the discount represents value or reflects limited revenue growth. Recent earnings showed an EPS beat, but revenue declined year over year and missed expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: The primary pressure on VZ is concern that SpaceX could enter the U.S. wireless market by acquiring spectrum or participating in next year’s federal auction. A direct-to-mobile satellite service with dense urban coverage could intensify competition for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, prompting a broad telecom selloff. SpaceX direct mobile threat

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.