Janus Henderson Group PLC Reduces Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Posted by Francis Steltz on Jul 31st, 2026

Verizon Communications logo Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,844,442 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 327,228 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $192,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the first 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 period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.3%

VZ opened at $46.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $192.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.35 and its 200 day moving average is $46.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price target 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. Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Get Our Latest Analysis on VZ

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.