5,333,461 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Purchased by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought 5,333,461 shares of Verizon in the fourth quarter, a stake worth about $217.1 million and representing roughly 0.13% of the company.
• Several other large institutional investors also boosted their Verizon holdings recently, and institutions now own 62.06% of the stock.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.28, topping estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $50.59.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,333,461 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $217,125,000. Verizon Communications comprises about 0.7% of Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Verizon Communications at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $637,812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905,101 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $385,983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,965,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

VZ opened at $47.84 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.24. The business's 50 day moving average price is $47.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Company 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.

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