Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ is Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management increased its Verizon stake by 7.0% in Q4, ending with 658,473 shares valued at about $26.8 million. Verizon is now its 9th-largest holding and makes up 1.3% of the portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors holding 62.06% of Verizon’s stock. Large holders like Vanguard and State Street also added to their positions.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on Verizon, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59. The company also recently beat EPS estimates in its latest quarter, though revenue came in slightly below expectations.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 658,473 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 43,337 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 1.3% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $26,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. State Street Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $637,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905,101 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $385,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965,033 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.59.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced preliminary shareholder voting results from its 2026 annual meeting, with shareholders electing all nine board nominees and approving management proposals, signaling solid governance support and no signs of major shareholder unrest. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company said California SBDC named Verizon its Corporate Small Business Champion of the Year, highlighting Verizon’s small-business support and community profile, which can reinforce the brand and customer loyalty narrative. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive, with commentary pointing to Verizon’s strong dividend outlook, improving earnings momentum, and the ability to manage debt after the Frontier acquisition while still supporting buybacks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also rolled out customer-facing promotions, including a large FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket giveaway and the launch of the motorola razr 2026 on its lineup, both of which support subscriber engagement and marketing momentum. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Verizon as a top-ranked momentum or value-focused telecom stock versus peers, which may help sentiment but does not represent a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry pieces on private 5G, satellite telecom, and the SpaceX IPO filing may support the long-term wireless narrative, but they are broader sector stories rather than direct Verizon-specific news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon’s ongoing debt management remains a watch point after the Frontier deal, and the planned redemption of debt securities underscores that leverage is still part of the story even as the company works to pay it down. Article Title

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $48.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.75. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Company 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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