Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases 40,394 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 452,166 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 40,394 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $47.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $196.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.24. 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 data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Evercore raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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