Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 630,139 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 205,341 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $27,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.25.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approvals complete for Frontier acquisition — Verizon expects the transaction to close Jan. 20, bringing roughly 30 million fiber passings and enabling cross‑selling of fiber and 5G services, which could materially expand growth runway and ARPU over time. GlobeNewswire: Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile wins Pentagon contract — headlines lifted ASTS shares and remind investors Verizon has partnerships with LEO satellite providers, which could support future wholesale or coverage initiatives, but the news is primarily a catalyst for ASTS rather than VZ. MarketBeat: Pentagon Deal Sends AST SpaceMobile Soaring
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread outage and $20 customer credits — a multi‑hour nationwide outage tied to a software issue triggered customer complaints and scrutiny; Verizon is offering a $20 redeemable credit to affected users, which raises short‑term costs and reputational risk and has prompted calls for mandatory refunds. This outage is the principal near‑term negative driving sentiment. Investopedia: Why Verizon Customers Are Getting $20 Payouts
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target cut — Sanford C. Bernstein trimmed its VZ target from $46 to $44 and moved to Market Perform, signaling more cautious near‑term expectations; the change tempers upside in the short term. TickerReport / Benzinga: Analyst Price Target Cut

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $38.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $164.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 3.75 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.35 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.78.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

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.