Boston Common Asset Management LLC Acquires 20,308 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316,689 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 20,308 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 1.0% of Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 133.8% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358 shares during the last quarter. Decker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $494,000. Greenwood Gearhart LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 91.3% during the first quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 16,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 7,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Little House Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the first quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 57,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,902,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.09.

Key Stories 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

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1%

VZ opened at $43.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

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.