AIA Group Ltd Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd increased its Verizon stake by 85.4% in the first quarter, buying 72,849 additional shares and bringing its position to 158,131 shares valued at about $7.94 million.
• Verizon is pursuing a major cost-cutting restructuring, including selling 274 company-owned retail stores to franchisees and cutting roughly 3,000 jobs, a move investors see as potentially improving margins.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: Verizon’s consensus rating is still Hold, with a recent average target price of about $50.09, while the stock opened at $43.57 and yields 6.5% on its quarterly dividend.

AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 85.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 158,131 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 72,849 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is moving to sell 274 company-owned retail stores to franchisees and cut roughly 3,000 jobs, a restructuring that could lower operating costs and improve margins over time. Reuters: Verizon to shed 274 stores, lay off another 500 corporate employees
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction has been favorable to the cost-reset story, with articles noting VZ rose as investors responded to the store shakeup and expense reduction plans. Yahoo Finance: VZ Stock Rises — Verizon Moves To Slash Costs With Major Store Shakeup
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 earnings estimate for Verizon and kept a Hold rating, suggesting only modest near-term earnings improvement. MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is expected to report earnings on Friday, which keeps investors focused on whether the restructuring and broadband growth can offset slower revenue trends. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (VZ) to Post Earnings on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are cautioning that Verizon already trades at a premium relative to peers, which could limit upside if earnings growth disappoints. Trefis: VZ Earns Its Premium Over Peers. Now What?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank also lowered its price target to $51.50, reflecting some skepticism about the pace of Verizon’s improvement. American Banking News: Verizon Communications NYSE: VZ Price Target Lowered to $51.50 at Scotiabank

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Barclays reduced 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 research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

VZ stock opened at $43.57 on Monday. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.11. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. 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.

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