Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 521,464 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC cut its Verizon stake by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 521,464 shares and leaving it with 2,068,566 shares valued at about $84.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors still holding 62.06% of Verizon’s shares despite some portfolio reshuffling.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on Verizon, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59; recent reports from several firms have raised price targets into the mid-$50s.

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,068,566 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 521,464 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $84,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,891 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 27,471 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced pricing terms for its tender offers and consent solicitations across 20 series of notes, part of an effort to refinance or retire debt and streamline its capital structure. Markets often view these moves as supportive of future cash flow flexibility. Verizon announces pricing terms of its tender offers and consent solicitations for 20 series of Verizon and certain of its subsidiaries’ notes
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also reported early results and extended the early participation date on its debt exchange/tender programs, suggesting solid holder participation and continued progress on liability management. Verizon announces extension of early participation date and early results of its private exchange offers and consent solicitations for 11 series of notes open to certain investors
• Positive Sentiment: Array Digital Infrastructure completed the sale of select spectrum assets to Verizon for $1.0 billion, reinforcing Verizon’s long-term network investment strategy and spectrum position. Array completes sale of select spectrum assets to Verizon for 1.0 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate article highlighted Verizon as a high-yield dividend stock with attractive valuation and growing cash flow, which supports the investment case but is not a new company-specific catalyst. Verizon’s Growing Cash Flow Continues to Support its Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Another piece said Verizon has pulled back recently but remains up over the past year, framing the stock as potentially undervalued after mixed earnings signals rather than indicating a fresh operational problem. Assessing Verizon VZ Valuation After Recent Pullback And Mixed Earnings Signals

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of VZ opened at $47.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.16.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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.