Equitable Holdings Inc. Decreases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Equitable Holdings reduced its Verizon stake by 21.1% in the second quarter, selling 61,191 shares and retaining 228,258 shares valued at approximately $9.66 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 62.06%, with major investors including State Street, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Bank of America, and Norges Bank holding or increasing significant positions.
• Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating on Verizon, with an average price target of $50.84. The company recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, pays a $2.83 annualized dividend yielding about 5.6%, and forecast full-year 2026 EPS of $4.99–$5.04.

Equitable Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 21.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 228,258 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 61,191 shares during the quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,286,423,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VZ. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. 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, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

VZ stock opened at $50.11 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.42. The company has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. 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 earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm 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 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Verizon Communications 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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