Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its Verizon stake by 5.6% in the second quarter, adding 540,753 shares for a total position of 10.2 million shares valued at approximately $432.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates by $0.03, while revenue of $34.25 billion fell short of forecasts and declined 0.7% year over year. The company maintains 2026 EPS guidance of $4.99–$5.04.
• Verizon’s quarterly dividend equates to $2.83 annually and a 5.6% yield. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $50.84, close to the stock’s reported opening price of $50.12.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,219,866 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 540,753 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.25% of Verizon Communications worth $432,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $268,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,348,276.88. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.33. The stock has a market cap of $208.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.84.

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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