New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,389,299 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 71,784 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $170,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triton Wealth Management PLLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.57 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.93.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. 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 6.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.02%.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced a new $4 billion joint venture with BT to expand global connectivity services for enterprise customers, giving it exposure to cloud, AI, and compliance-related demand across more than 180 countries. Verizon Forms $4 Billion BT Venture For Global Enterprise Customers
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Verizon’s upcoming second-quarter earnings report to show a single-digit increase in profit, which supports the case that the company’s core business remains stable and profitable. What to Expect From Verizon Communications’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon continues to appeal to income investors because of its long dividend-growth record, with 19 straight years of dividend increases reinforcing its defensive, high-yield profile. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon was recently dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average and replaced by Alphabet, a headline that may affect sentiment but does not directly change the company’s underlying operations. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage on Starlink and SpaceX is keeping investors focused on longer-term wireless competition, but those threats still face major capacity and infrastructure hurdles before they materially challenge Verizon’s core network business. Starlink Dominates Internet From Space. Can It Disrupt AT&T and Verizon on the Ground?
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon warned that ongoing transformation efforts will create Q2 charges, including $350 million to $450 million in severance costs and $200 million to $300 million in asset-rationalization charges, which could pressure reported results. Verizon Sees Severance Charge from Headcount Reductions
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary says Verizon looks inexpensive but still faces weak execution and competitive pressure, suggesting investors are not fully convinced the recent weakness is a buying opportunity yet. Verizon Stock Looks Cheap On Earnings But Weak On Execution

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.