Aristotle Capital Management LLC Sells 639,943 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Aristotle Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,992,772 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 639,943 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 2.0% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $953,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 5.7%

VZ opened at $46.34 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon beat Q2 adjusted EPS estimates at $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, helped by record EBITDA margins and stronger cash generation. Verizon earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted EPS, mobility and broadband service revenue, and free cash flow, signaling management confidence in the outlook. Reuters guidance article
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon posted better-than-expected subscriber momentum, including 184,000 postpaid phone additions and more than 550,000 total mobility and broadband net adds, showing the core business is improving. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Free cash flow rose 24.4% and Verizon expanded its full-year buyback target to as much as $4.5 billion, both supportive of shareholder returns. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also announced a more than $1 billion dark fiber deal with Google for AI data centers, suggesting potential upside from infrastructure demand and additional AI-related contracts. Reuters Google deal article
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue came in below Wall Street expectations and was slightly lower year over year, so top-line pressure is still a concern. Verizon earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity was unusually heavy, with traders buying more call options than normal, which may reflect speculative bullish positioning rather than fundamental news. GuruFocus earnings call highlights

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.