Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 5,223,113 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments acquired 5.22 million Verizon shares during the third quarter, valued at approximately $239.6 million and representing about 0.13% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Verizon’s latest results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $1.31 versus the $1.27 consensus and revenue up 1.5% year over year; the company also raised its 2026 outlook. Its quarterly dividend of $0.7075 implies a 6.3% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: 13 analysts rate the stock Buy and 16 rate it Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating and a $51.05 target price. Shares opened at $44.81, while several firms recently lowered their price targets and CEO Kyle Malady continued selling shares under a prearranged plan.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,223,113 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $239,584,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.13% of Verizon Communications as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% in the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Balance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $47,300.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Barclays reduced 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 report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.05.

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 Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business's 50-day moving average is $47.04 and its 200-day moving average is $46.73. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.68 and a 1 year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 72.19%.

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.

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