The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,497,275 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 186,001 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of Verizon Communications worth $148,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4,016.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 271,369,762 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,489,796,000 after purchasing an additional 264,776,704 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $210.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total value of $54,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 106,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,326,168.68. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,400 shares of company stock valued at $219,142. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Service convergence is strengthening growth. Verizon’s Frontier acquisition is helping accelerate service-revenue growth, while bundled mobile, broadband and fiber offerings are contributing to stronger broadband additions, higher adoption and lower churn. Analysts view the company’s valuation and substantial free-cash-flow-supported dividend as attractive for income-focused investors. Verizon Firing On All Cylinders – Focus On Service Convergence
• Positive Sentiment: New iPhone 18 Pro promotions could support subscriber additions. Verizon is offering annual upgrades, trade-in savings of up to $1,200 for eligible customers, and incentives for switchers, including some offers that do not require a trade-in. These promotions may improve upgrade activity and customer acquisition, although they could pressure near-term margins. Switch to Verizon and get the new iPhone 18 Pro
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s multi-year agreement for more than 80 million miles of Corning optical fiber supports planned broadband expansion and potential AI data-center connectivity through 2032. Corning Just Locked In a Massive Verizon Fiber Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.7075 per share, preserving its annualized 5.7% yield but offering no new dividend-growth catalyst. Verizon Keeps Quarterly Dividend at $0.7075
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon removed its price-lock guarantee from the myPlan offering, potentially weakening a customer-friendly perk and signaling greater pricing flexibility in a competitive market. Verizon scales back its price-lock guarantee
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kyle Malady sold $54,978 of shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is relatively small but may create modest caution among investors. Verizon CEO sells shares

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.