Mirova Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mirova boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 51.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 23,405 shares during the quarter. Mirova’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 109.4% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 329,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,484,000 after purchasing an additional 172,212 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 29,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 394,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $17,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 125,914 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,614,000 after purchasing an additional 7,668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan says near-term earnings headwinds are being offset by Verizon’s strategic fiber expansion, which supports medium-term growth prospects and helps justify a Hold rating. This highlights durable capital allocation toward higher-margin fiber that could underpin stable cash flow. Verizon Communications: Near-Term Earnings Headwinds Offset by Strategic Fiber Expansion, Justifying a Hold Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: New federal legislation (H.R.7752, the Kelsey Smith Act) would tighten requirements for emergency disclosure of device location data. Verizon may need process and systems updates; financial impact is unclear and likely limited to compliance costs unless the law changes operator liability or timelines materially. New Bill: Representative Derek Schmidt introduces H.R. 7752: Kelsey Smith Act
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector Q4 benchmarking pieces review Verizon’s recent results in context of wireless/cable peers. Useful for investors comparing execution and margins, but the writeup is largely descriptive rather than introducing new catalysts. Consumer Discretionary – Wireless, Cable and Satellite Stocks Q4 Results: Benchmarking Verizon (NYSE:VZ)
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc criticized Verizon’s new reporting structure (starting in Q1) as investor-unfriendly and said the disclosures reduce modeling transparency—this can increase uncertainty among quant and income investors who rely on detailed segment metrics. Reduced visibility often weighs on multiples for dividend-oriented stocks. KeyBanc Flags Verizon’s (VZ) New Reporting Structure as Investor-Unfriendly
• Negative Sentiment: Sen. Elizabeth Warren has questioned Verizon over recent layoffs and prior tax benefits, drawing political and reputational scrutiny that could bring regulatory or PR risk. That attention can pressure the stock if it prompts investigations or forces changes to workforce/cost plans. Verizon Faces Warren Scrutiny On Layoffs As Valuation Gap Draws Focus
• Negative Sentiment: A market note flagged Verizon’s share decline (larger than the market) in the latest session, reflecting investor reaction to the combined signals above (mixed analyst views, disclosure changes, and political scrutiny). Short-term sentiment appears negative as traders reprice uncertainty. Verizon Communications (VZ) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.0%

VZ stock opened at $49.50 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $208.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

Verizon Communications 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.