Bridges Investment Management Inc. Sells 16,677 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,490 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,677 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $217,125,000. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after buying an additional 4,905,101 shares during the last quarter. 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: Verizon is actively managing its balance sheet by extending and updating tender offers and exchange offers for multiple series of notes, which could help optimize debt costs and improve financial flexibility over time. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors continue to view Verizon as a relatively attractive dividend stock with a lower valuation compared with the broader market, supporting the case for income-focused buyers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s latest earnings were mixed: EPS beat expectations, but revenue came in slightly below estimates, leaving sentiment balanced rather than clearly positive. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Operational commentary suggests Verizon is tightening in-store policies, which may be creating longer wait times and potentially frustrating customers at a time when service quality and retention matter more. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rival T-Mobile is adding more free perks to fight churn, highlighting intense competition in wireless and raising concerns that Verizon may need to spend more to defend its subscriber base. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary also points to Verizon dipping more than the broader market, suggesting investors are cautious despite the company’s defensive profile. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $46.56 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.