Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,580,820 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.91% of Verizon Communications worth $1,915,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the fourth 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. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $217,125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $178.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $45.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.07.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications'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 analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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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