Vestor Capital LLC Has $12.36 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Vestor Capital increased its Verizon stake by 9,751.4% in the first quarter, ending with 246,286 shares valued at approximately $12.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon’s stock.
• Analysts have a generally cautious outlook, with nine Buy ratings and twelve Holds, producing an average rating of “Hold” and a $50.84 price target. Verizon shares recently opened at $46.12, down 2.3%.
• Verizon beat quarterly EPS expectations with $1.30 versus $1.27, but revenue declined 0.7% year over year and missed estimates. The company declared a $0.7075 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 6.1% annualized yield.

Vestor Capital LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9,751.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 246,286 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 243,786 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,286,423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson decreased 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.12 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $45.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $192.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

More Verizon Communications News

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

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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