Ardmore Road Asset Management LP Purchases 263,384 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ardmore Road Asset Management LP raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 48.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 811,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 263,384 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 2.7% of Ardmore Road Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Ardmore Road Asset Management LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $40,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,862 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,790,000 after buying an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $89,499,000 after buying an additional 639,380 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 697.0% during the 4th quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $19,189,000 after buying an additional 412,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $97,059,000 after buying an additional 316,854 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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 Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $193.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

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.