Corient Private Wealth LP Decreases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth reduced its Verizon stake by 7.6% in the second quarter, selling 100,142 shares and retaining 1.21 million shares valued at approximately $51.3 million. Institutional investors own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Verizon shares opened at $50.58, near their 52-week high, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.30 that exceeded estimates, despite revenue declining 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion.
• Verizon declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 5.6%. Analysts remain broadly neutral, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.97.

Corient Private Wealth LP cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,211,282 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 100,142 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $51,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gill Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% during the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Service convergence is strengthening growth. Verizon’s Frontier acquisition is helping accelerate service-revenue growth, while bundled mobile, broadband and fiber offerings are contributing to stronger broadband additions, higher adoption and lower churn. Analysts view the company’s valuation and substantial free-cash-flow-supported dividend as attractive for income-focused investors. Verizon Firing On All Cylinders - Focus On Service Convergence
• Positive Sentiment: New iPhone 18 Pro promotions could support subscriber additions. Verizon is offering annual upgrades, trade-in savings of up to $1,200 for eligible customers, and incentives for switchers, including some offers that do not require a trade-in. These promotions may improve upgrade activity and customer acquisition, although they could pressure near-term margins. Switch to Verizon and get the new iPhone 18 Pro
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s multi-year agreement for more than 80 million miles of Corning optical fiber supports planned broadband expansion and potential AI data-center connectivity through 2032. Corning Just Locked In a Massive Verizon Fiber Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.7075 per share, preserving its annualized 5.7% yield but offering no new dividend-growth catalyst. Verizon Keeps Quarterly Dividend at $0.7075
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon removed its price-lock guarantee from the myPlan offering, potentially weakening a customer-friendly perk and signaling greater pricing flexibility in a competitive market. Verizon scales back its price-lock guarantee
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kyle Malady sold $54,978 of shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is relatively small but may create modest caution among investors. Verizon CEO sells shares

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:VZ opened at $50.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total transaction of $54,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,566 shares in the company, valued at $5,326,168.68. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,400 shares of company stock valued at $219,142. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price 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, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.

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