Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Has $5.33 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 112.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 121,344 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,201 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th 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 shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,980,550 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $85,698,000 after buying an additional 32,904 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 9,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 9.0% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 54,752 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4/earnings + guidance — Verizon beat Q4 EPS estimates and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $4.90–$4.95, reinforcing cash flow and dividend coverage that investors prize. This underpins the stock’s recent upward move and supports dividend-focused buying. MarketBeat VZ overview
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price target lift — Oppenheimer set a new $56 price target on VZ, suggesting upside from current levels and giving investors confidence in consensus estimates and valuation support. Oppenheimer price target
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership/enterprise traction — Coverage of Kodiak AI’s milestones highlights expanded partnerships with Verizon, signaling enterprise & network monetization opportunities beyond core wireless services. That diversification can boost long-term revenue potential. Kodiak AI partnership mention
• Neutral Sentiment: Subscriber momentum — Analysts note solid postpaid phone adds and fixed wireless subscriber growth, which improve churn and lifetime value but have yet to fully translate into stronger service revenue growth. This is constructive for ARPU stability and churn metrics. Zacks subscriber growth article
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue ceiling risk — Despite subscriber gains, analysts and company commentary expect wireless service revenues to remain roughly flat near-term, which could cap share-price upside until service revenue or margin expansion resumes. Zacks revenue outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/resilience narrative — Coverage highlighting Verizon as a high-yield, U.S.-focused defensive stock has driven demand from income-focused investors amid geopolitical volatility; this supports a higher valuation multiple relative to risk-off peers. MarketBeat dividend safe-haven piece

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $51.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.67. The firm has a market cap of $216.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.41 and its 200-day moving average is $42.81.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

About Verizon Communications

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.