Parnassus Investments LLC Increases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,073,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,033 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $125,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent commentaries argue Verizon looks undervalued, citing its roughly 6% dividend yield, strong free-cash-flow generation, and defensive appeal in a volatile market. One note also highlights raised 2026 guidance, mid-single-digit EPS growth expectations, and robust postpaid net adds as signs of improving operating momentum. Article: Verizon: A Unique Opportunity In An Expensive Market
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focusing on Verizon’s fiber expansion, including the Frontier acquisition, which should broaden its broadband footprint and improve its competitive position versus satellite-based connectivity rivals and other wireless peers. Article: Verizon: Satellite Pessimism Overly Done – Rich Upside And Income Potential Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: A market note said Verizon rose while the broader market dipped, reinforcing its image as a defensive stock that can hold up when investors rotate toward steadier income names. Article: Verizon Communications (VZ) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2027 EPS estimate for Verizon, but the change was minimal and the firm kept a Hold rating, suggesting only a modest impact on the stock. Source: MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Other recent articles compare Verizon with AT&T and AST SpaceMobile, but these pieces are mostly relative-value discussions rather than direct catalysts for VZ. Article: VZ vs. ASTS: Which Connectivity Stock is the Better Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary warns that Verizon still faces limits to future profitability improvement, meaning investors may want to temper expectations even though the stock has defensive qualities. Article: Verizon: A Good Defensive Play In Times Of Market Exuberance

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $47.04 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $196.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given 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 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

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.