Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners increased its Verizon stake by 23.5% in the first quarter, owning 265,708 shares valued at approximately $13.3 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 62.06% of Verizon’s stock.
• Verizon exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.30 versus the $1.27 consensus, but revenue fell 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion and missed estimates. The company maintains a strong income appeal with a $0.7075 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 6.1% yield.
• Analysts remain divided, with Verizon carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and a $50.84 price target. Potential fiber and AI-infrastructure growth supports the outlook, while possible SpaceX entry into wireless markets remains a key competitive risk.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 23.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 265,708 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 50,641 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% in 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 during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.3%

VZ opened at $46.12 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $192.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $45.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS 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 dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.84.

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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