Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its Verizon stake by 78.1% in the first quarter, adding 3.09 million shares to bring its holding to 7.04 million shares worth about $353.5 million.
• Verizon reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, with adjusted EPS of $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, while also lifting full-year 2026 guidance for EPS, mobility and broadband revenue, and free cash flow.
• The company showed improving subscriber momentum and shareholder returns, including 184,000 postpaid phone additions, stronger free cash flow, and an increased buyback target of up to $4.5 billion, even as revenue came in below expectations.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 78.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,041,869 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,087,186 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.17% of Verizon Communications worth $353,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,712,393 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $85,962,000 after purchasing an additional 23,100 shares during the last quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 99.0% during the first quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 11,284 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 5,614 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.9% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 66,504 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,339,000 after buying an additional 8,095 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 11,940 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 94,787 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,682,000 after buying an additional 10,055 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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: Verizon beat Q2 adjusted EPS estimates at $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, helped by record EBITDA margins and stronger cash generation. Verizon earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted EPS, mobility and broadband service revenue, and free cash flow, signaling management confidence in the outlook. Reuters guidance article
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon posted better-than-expected subscriber momentum, including 184,000 postpaid phone additions and more than 550,000 total mobility and broadband net adds, showing the core business is improving. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Free cash flow rose 24.4% and Verizon expanded its full-year buyback target to as much as $4.5 billion, both supportive of shareholder returns. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also announced a more than $1 billion dark fiber deal with Google for AI data centers, suggesting potential upside from infrastructure demand and additional AI-related contracts. Reuters Google deal article
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue came in below Wall Street expectations and was slightly lower year over year, so top-line pressure is still a concern. Verizon earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity was unusually heavy, with traders buying more call options than normal, which may reflect speculative bullish positioning rather than fundamental news. GuruFocus earnings call highlights

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 5.7%

NYSE VZ opened at $46.34 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $193.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.20.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Verizon Communications 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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