Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Purchases New Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,648 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCGM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the first quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 59,285 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 2,539 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the first quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 43,812 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,199,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.8% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 667,727 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,520,000 after buying an additional 48,463 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.7% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 648,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $32,557,000 after buying an additional 62,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $249,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $181.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26. 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) last issued its quarterly 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is moving to sell 274 company-owned retail stores to franchisees and cut roughly 3,000 jobs, a restructuring that could lower operating costs and improve margins over time. Reuters: Verizon to shed 274 stores, lay off another 500 corporate employees
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction has been favorable to the cost-reset story, with articles noting VZ rose as investors responded to the store shakeup and expense reduction plans. Yahoo Finance: VZ Stock Rises — Verizon Moves To Slash Costs With Major Store Shakeup
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 earnings estimate for Verizon and kept a Hold rating, suggesting only modest near-term earnings improvement. MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is expected to report earnings on Friday, which keeps investors focused on whether the restructuring and broadband growth can offset slower revenue trends. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (VZ) to Post Earnings on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are cautioning that Verizon already trades at a premium relative to peers, which could limit upside if earnings growth disappoints. Trefis: VZ Earns Its Premium Over Peers. Now What?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank also lowered its price target to $51.50, reflecting some skepticism about the pace of Verizon’s improvement. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Lowered to $51.50 at Scotiabank

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.