First Trust Advisors LP Sells 964,325 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,707,701 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 964,325 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 0.5% of First Trust Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.35% of Verizon Communications worth $738,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avanza Fonder AB grew 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 valued at $13,521,000 after buying an additional 17,495 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 14,862 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,790,000 after buying an additional 31,354 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $89,499,000 after acquiring an additional 639,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Financial LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 697.0% in the fourth quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after acquiring an additional 412,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces frame Verizon as a value stock, highlighting its relatively low valuation and dividend appeal for income-focused investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts cited FIFA-related network demand and stronger usage trends as potential near-term catalysts ahead of second-quarter earnings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is preparing for heavy network traffic around the first-ever World Cup halftime show, which reinforces its network scale but is not clearly a direct earnings driver yet. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC lowered its price target on Verizon to $46 from $48 and kept a “sector perform” rating, signaling cautious sentiment rather than a major change in the thesis.
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon plans to cut about 3,000 jobs and sell 274 stores to franchisees, underscoring ongoing restructuring and raising questions about growth and margins. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said Verizon will sell 274 stores and cut 500 office jobs, adding to concerns that management is leaning on cost reductions rather than clear revenue acceleration. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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