Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Sells 716,761 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Nan Shan Life Insurance cut its Verizon stake by 34.3%, selling 716,761 shares and retaining 1.37 million shares valued at approximately $58.1 million. Verizon represents 1.9% of the insurer’s portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 62.06% of Verizon’s shares, with major holders including State Street, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon increasing their positions.
• Verizon beat quarterly earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, although revenue declined 0.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $50.97 target price.

Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 34.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,371,830 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 716,761 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 1.9% of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $58,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 31.2% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of VZ opened at $50.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $208.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.26. 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 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.45.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on VZ shares. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on shares of 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, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.97.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,666 shares in the company, valued at $5,437,133. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,300 shares of company stock valued at $164,164. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source