Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $39.83 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 977,898 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,367 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 0.5% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $39,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $217,125,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s shares have been rising alongside a broader market pullback, suggesting investors are favoring the stock’s defensive characteristics and income appeal. Verizon Communications (VZ) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage is emphasizing Verizon’s fiber expansion and its potential to benefit from rising AI, cloud, and data-center connectivity demand, which supports the long-term growth case for VZ. Can Verizon’s Fiber Expansion Strategy Benefit From Rising AI Demand?
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon continues to be framed as a compelling dividend stock for income-focused investors, which can attract buyers seeking stable cash flow and relatively low volatility. 3 Dividend Stocks Built for Retirement to Buy in June
• Neutral Sentiment: Several comparison articles pitted Verizon against AT&T, T-Mobile, and AST SpaceMobile, keeping the stock in focus but not adding a clear new catalyst by themselves. VZ vs. ASTS: Which Connectivity Stock is the Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon has also seen increased investor attention online, which can reflect growing interest but does not necessarily signal a fundamental change. Investors Heavily Search Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ): Here is What You Need to Know

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.95 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $196.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications’s 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, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s 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.