Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,155,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 175,952 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $58,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

VZ opened at $43.57 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 stock 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.11.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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