Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,860,766 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 1,240,255 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.46% of Verizon Communications worth $2,576,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,643,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,634 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is expanding its 6G partnership network, with nine technology companies joining its industry forum. Trials involving crowd-density sensing, drone and vehicle tracking, smart glasses, and real-time sports data could strengthen the company’s long-term positioning in edge connectivity and next-generation wireless services. Verizon 6G expansion article
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon continues to appeal to income-focused investors because of its recurring wireless cash flows and 19 consecutive years of dividend increases. That track record supports the stock’s defensive appeal, particularly for investors seeking reliable yield. High-yield dividend stocks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile resolved lawsuits over advertising claims concerning savings from switching carriers. The settlement removes an ongoing legal and reputational issue, although the financial terms and broader effect on competitive advertising were not disclosed. Verizon and T-Mobile lawsuit resolution
• Negative Sentiment: One analysis argues that Verizon’s turnaround has outpaced the underlying revenue improvement. Although the stock has outperformed the broader market over the past year, revenue expected to support that performance has not yet materialized, raising execution and valuation concerns near the top of its annual range. Verizon revenue outlook analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Dividend-focused comparisons highlight that Verizon’s strong dividend-raise record does not automatically make the payout risk-free. A closely watched coverage measure reportedly presents a less favorable picture than the headline dividend history, reinforcing concerns about cash-flow flexibility and the sustainability of future increases. Telecom dividend comparison

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Moffett Nathanson cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $51.32 on Tuesday. 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. The business's fifty day moving average price is $47.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.53. The company has a market capitalization of $213.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total transaction of $54,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,326,168.68. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,400 shares of company stock valued at $219,142. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Profile

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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