Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 37,247 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,989,427,000 after purchasing an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,238,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $992,939,000 after purchasing an additional 646,537 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $47.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $196.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were 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 owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FCC approved Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase from U.S. Cellular, removing a key regulatory hurdle and supporting Verizon’s efforts to expand network capacity and coverage. FCC approves Verizon’s $1 billion spectrum purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also launched a $4 billion junior subordinated notes offering and related debt exchange/tender activity, which suggests management is actively restructuring and extending its capital profile to improve financial flexibility. Verizon Strengthens Capital Structure with $4 Billion Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile said they plan to form a joint venture to improve rural coverage using satellite-based technology, a move that could improve service quality and reduce long-term coverage gaps. US wireless carriers to launch joint venture to address rural dead zones
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon announced additional layoffs as part of a broader cost-cutting and AI automation push, which may help margins but also signals ongoing restructuring pressure. Verizon Announces New Layoffs as Cost-Cutting Continues Into 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains around Verizon’s heavy debt load and the need for repeated capital-structure changes, which can raise questions about balance-sheet risk even as the company refinances and reorganizes its obligations. Verizon Debt Moves Reshape Capital Structure And Investor Risk Profile
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary also points to customer-retention pressure and plan changes that could drive churn, offsetting the more constructive news on spectrum and network expansion. Verizon’s latest phone plan change may drive away consumers

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.