Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 967,166 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 241.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,367,142 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 967,166 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $68,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Avanza Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,521,000 after purchasing an additional 17,495 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,862 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after purchasing an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 41.0% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 639,380 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Financial LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 697.0% during the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is being highlighted as a potentially attractive dividend stock, with Barron’s saying now may be a good time to buy income-oriented names like VZ as yields look more compelling. Why Verizon, Clorox and More Dividend Stocks Are Flashing a Buy Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon won a new automotive connectivity contract through its KDDI partnership, becoming the U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles, which could support growth in its enterprise and IoT business. Verizon named U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles through KDDI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also flagged Verizon as a telecom name worth owning, noting its fiber and wireless expansion strategy and suggesting it may have a good setup for its next earnings report. T or VZ: Which Telecom Stock Deserves a Place in Your Portfolio?
• Positive Sentiment: Another recent report said Verizon has a strong earnings surprise history and could beat estimates again, which tends to support investor confidence ahead of results. Will Verizon (VZ) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs won asset-management mandates tied to Verizon’s retirement assets, but this is mainly a financial-services arrangement rather than an operational development for Verizon. Goldman Sachs wins $70 billion in asset management deals with Verizon, Lockheed Martin
• Neutral Sentiment: Some broader commentary on enterprise internet reliability and telecom competition, including Starlink-related pressure, may add noise to the sector outlook, but it is not a direct negative catalyst for Verizon itself. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Dow Exit Deepens Starlink Market Pressure

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.14 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $175.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.10 and a 200 day moving average of $46.01.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.28.

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.