CX Institutional Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 50.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,108 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,794 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional and analyst support — Large fund buying and recent buy ratings/prices targets from major firms signal conviction from professional investors, which can underpin the stock. QuiverQuant notes big Q3-position increases from UBS, BlackRock and others and several recent buy ratings and $44–$51 analyst targets. Verizon Communications Stock (VZ) Opinions on Job Cuts and Earnings Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: High dividend yield and cash-flow profile — Coverage highlights Verizon’s ~7% yield and strong cash flow forecasts, making the stock attractive to income-focused investors, especially if interest rates ease. Here’s My Top High-Yield Dividend Stock to Buy in January
• Positive Sentiment: Macro tailwind possibility — A Fed governor publicly pushing for sizable rate cuts this year raises the prospect of lower rates, which tends to benefit high-dividend, low-volatility stocks like Verizon. Fed Governor Wants Huge Rate Cuts This Year: 5 High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Growth initiatives under watch — Coverage on Verizon’s Event Perks loyalty efforts and industrial IoT push flags potential incremental revenue/enterprise opportunities; impact depends on execution and scale. Should Verizon’s Event Perks and Industrial IoT Push Require Action From Verizon Communications (VZ) Investors?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed value proposition — Analysts and commentators note mixed recent returns but argue the stock may offer value given steady cash flow; view depends on whether investors prioritize yield vs. growth. Is Verizon (VZ) Offering Value After Mixed Returns And Strong Cash Flow Forecasts?
• Negative Sentiment: Job cuts and social-media criticism — Reports of large-scale layoffs (thousands) and online concern about service quality and dividend sustainability create short-term investor uncertainty and reputational risk; restructuring can also trigger near-term charges even if it improves margins later. Verizon Communications Stock (VZ) Opinions on Job Cuts and Earnings Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Upcoming earnings/Risk of guidance disappointments — Market attention ahead of the Jan 30 report raises the chance of volatility if Verizon’s revenue or guidance misses expectations. Zacks notes the stock recently outpaced the market intraday, but earnings execution remains the primary near-term catalyst. Why Verizon Communications (VZ) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.53 and a 200-day moving average of $41.90. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.60 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Verizon Communications 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.