QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 43,313 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Verizon stake by 5.5% in the second quarter, purchasing 43,313 shares for a total of 836,939 shares valued at approximately $35.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $50.97, while Verizon trades near $46.51. The company recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, though revenue declined 0.7% year over year.
• Verizon declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.83 dividend and a 6.1% yield. Potential spectrum spending of up to $20 billion and network-reliability concerns could pressure future cash flow and operations.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 836,939 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 43,313 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,117,471,000 after buying an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $2,357,158,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,743,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,794 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $52,415.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 104,366 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,039.90. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $271,557. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted 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, July 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.97.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI investment strengthens Verizon’s growth and public-policy positioning. Verizon announced a $70 million nationwide AI-skilling initiative for job seekers, small businesses and educators, partnering with organizations including Goodwill, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI. The company also committed $1 million to Liberty Science Center to expand public access to AI education. While the program is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings, it could support Verizon’s brand, workforce strategy and relationships with business customers. Verizon to invest $70 million in AI training effort
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation and telecom expansion provide support. One recent analysis estimated VZ could be roughly 6% undervalued as its 5G, 6G research, device promotions and other product initiatives expand. Verizon’s low-teen price-to-earnings ratio and dividend appeal may attract income-oriented investors, although recent share-price momentum has been weak. Verizon Communications could be 6% undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO stock sale was limited and pre-planned. CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares for approximately $52,415 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transaction reduced his direct holdings by about 1%, making it a limited signal about management’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Potential spectrum spending could pressure free cash flow. Verizon is viewed as a leading bidder in a planned 2027 spectrum auction, with possible spending of up to $20 billion. Additional spectrum could improve long-term network capacity, but the acquisition would increase capital requirements and leverage risk.
• Negative Sentiment: A fiber outage highlighted reliability and reputational risks. A contractor reportedly cut a Verizon fiber cable in New Jersey, disrupting a backup data feed used by air-traffic controllers and contributing to flight delays. The incident appears temporary, but it may increase scrutiny of network resilience and service continuity. Verizon says contractor cut fiber cable

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $46.51. The company had a trading volume of 20,617,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,398,910. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.00 and a 200-day moving average of $47.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $193.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

About Verizon Communications

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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