Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 15,746 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,978,037 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,746 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.28% of Verizon Communications worth $526,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 27.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,084,780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,748,000 after buying an additional 231,671 shares during the period. Private Client Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $379,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 15,804 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $228,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying — Investors purchased ~276,566 call options on VZ Friday (≈+278% vs. typical volume), signaling short-term bullish bets or hedging ahead of catalysts. This elevated options flow can increase near-term upside trading interest.
• Positive Sentiment: Outpacing the wireless industry — Zacks highlights VZ outperforming peers over the past year thanks to 5G upgrades, network slicing and new partnerships, suggesting operational momentum that could support longer‑term revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Near-term market beat — Zacks also notes VZ outpaced the broader market on Jan. 8, reflecting supportive sentiment from investors reacting to recent operational/news items. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product/IoT initiatives highlighted — Coverage on Verizon’s event perks and Industrial IoT push points to potential revenue diversification beyond consumer wireless, a positive catalyst if adoption accelerates. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: High‑yield appeal — The Motley Fool recommends VZ as a top high‑yield dividend stock (yield ~7%), which can attract income-focused investors, especially if rate cuts materialize. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro rate narrative — Commentary that the Fed should cut rates this year could be supportive for high‑yield telecoms like VZ if realized, but this is speculative and timing/scale of cuts remain uncertain. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Job‑cut chatter and dividend concerns — Social media summaries report large workforce reductions and debate over dividend sustainability ahead of earnings, raising short‑term sentiment risk and questions about execution and cost structure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: New 12‑month low flagged — Coverage noting VZ reached a new 12‑month low raises caution for momentum investors and underscores current downside pressure for the stock. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $40.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $170.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.88. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

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.