5,223,113 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,223,113 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $239,584,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,915,882,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580,820 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,743,274,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075,794 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $184,260,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $132,893,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.04 and its 200 day moving average is $46.73. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.68 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.19%.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Better earnings and higher guidance: Verizon reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year. Growth in postpaid phone additions and broadband, lower promotional spending and margin expansion helped support an increase to the company’s 2026 outlook. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal remains strong: Verizon’s dividend yield is above 6%, the company has raised its payout for 20 consecutive years, and dividends consumed approximately 49% of recent free cash flow. This supports the view that the payout is financially sustainable despite Verizon’s substantial debt load. Verizon dividend analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and supplier investment: Freedom Broker upgraded VZ from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to $55. Separately, Verizon announced a $5 billion, five-year commitment to U.S. small-business suppliers, which could strengthen procurement relationships and support its network expansion ecosystem. Freedom Broker upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX competition remains a long-term issue: Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said a fully competitive SpaceX wireless network could take years and require enormous investment. Verizon remains open to a Starlink partnership, but not one that would enable direct competition through Verizon’s infrastructure. Verizon CEO on Starlink partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Countervailing concerns: Several firms, including Barclays, Daiwa, Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen, lowered their price targets. Investors are also watching reports of declining phone upgrades, while CEO Kyle Malady’s recurring Rule 10b5-1 stock sales may weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon phone upgrade trend

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.