Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 71.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 130,591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 328,580 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise their expectations for Verizon. Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $52, while TD Cowen raised its target to $56; Verizon also received an analyst upgrade. These actions reflect confidence in the company’s earnings outlook and recent operating performance. Verizon analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s investment case is being supported by fiber expansion and emerging AI infrastructure demand. Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings announced a $1.5 billion investment in Eaton Fiber to accelerate broadband deployment, while a separate analysis cited a potential $1 billion-plus Google dark-fiber deal and data-center retrofits as possible sources of higher-margin growth beginning in the second half of 2026. Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings fiber investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon remains viewed as inexpensive relative to telecom peers, trading at a significant forward-earnings discount while offering a dividend yield above 6%. However, investors are debating whether the discount represents value or reflects limited revenue growth. Recent earnings showed an EPS beat, but revenue declined year over year and missed expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: The primary pressure on VZ is concern that SpaceX could enter the U.S. wireless market by acquiring spectrum or participating in next year’s federal auction. A direct-to-mobile satellite service with dense urban coverage could intensify competition for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, prompting a broad telecom selloff. SpaceX direct mobile threat

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE VZ opened at $46.12 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average is $45.35 and its 200 day moving average is $46.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

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.