Amundi Sells 2,425,820 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Verizon position by 12% in the second quarter, selling 2.43 million shares and retaining 17.8 million shares valued at approximately $753.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 62.06%, with major investors including California State Teachers Retirement System, State Street, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Geode Capital and Bank of America increasing their holdings.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $50.97. Verizon recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, but revenue declined 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion.

Amundi trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,798,946 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 2,425,820 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.43% of Verizon Communications worth $753,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4,016.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 271,369,762 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $11,489,796,000 after purchasing an additional 264,776,704 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:VZ opened at $50.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $208.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.50, for a total value of $55,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 107,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,437,133. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 3,300 shares of company stock valued at $164,164 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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