Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management cut its Verizon stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 47,355 shares and ending with 1,583,449 shares valued at about $64.4 million.
• Verizon’s latest quarterly results beat EPS expectations, reporting $1.28 per share versus the $1.21 consensus, though revenue of $34.44 billion came in slightly below estimates.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $50.59, while several analysts recently raised targets or upgraded the stock.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,583,449 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 47,355 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $64,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE VZ opened at $46.88 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.38 and a 200-day moving average of $44.57. The firm has a market cap of $195.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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