Aristotle Capital Management LLC Sells 639,943 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Aristotle Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,992,772 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 639,943 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 2.0% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned 0.45% of Verizon Communications worth $953,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Econ Financial Services Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,862 shares during the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after acquiring an additional 31,354 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $89,499,000 after acquiring an additional 639,380 shares during the period. Clarity Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 697.0% during the 4th quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after purchasing an additional 412,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,059,000 after purchasing an additional 316,854 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 5.7%

Shares of VZ opened at $46.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $193.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.20. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon beat Q2 adjusted EPS estimates at $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, helped by record EBITDA margins and stronger cash generation. Verizon earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted EPS, mobility and broadband service revenue, and free cash flow, signaling management confidence in the outlook. Reuters guidance article
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon posted better-than-expected subscriber momentum, including 184,000 postpaid phone additions and more than 550,000 total mobility and broadband net adds, showing the core business is improving. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Free cash flow rose 24.4% and Verizon expanded its full-year buyback target to as much as $4.5 billion, both supportive of shareholder returns. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also announced a more than $1 billion dark fiber deal with Google for AI data centers, suggesting potential upside from infrastructure demand and additional AI-related contracts. Reuters Google deal article
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue came in below Wall Street expectations and was slightly lower year over year, so top-line pressure is still a concern. Verizon earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity was unusually heavy, with traders buying more call options than normal, which may reflect speculative bullish positioning rather than fundamental news. GuruFocus earnings call highlights

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.03.

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.