Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 7,807,225 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,357,757 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,807,225 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.73% of Verizon Communications worth $1,285,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve 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 $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.52 and a 200 day moving average of $47.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,348,276.88. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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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