State Street Corp Sells 5,177,454 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• State Street reduced its Verizon stake by 2.4%, selling 5.18 million shares in the second quarter but retaining 209.7 million shares worth approximately $8.88 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Verizon reported second-quarter EPS of $1.30, beating estimates, while revenue declined 0.7% year over year. Free cash flow rose 24.4%, supporting expectations for improved cash generation and dividend flexibility.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $50.97, compared with the stock’s reported price of $46.98. Verizon also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, representing a 6.0% annualized yield.

State Street Corp lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,676,274 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 5,177,454 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 5.05% of Verizon Communications worth $8,877,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 33.2% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 63,011 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,668,000 after purchasing an additional 15,714 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 338,532 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,333,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 25,656 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 10,714,909 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $453,669,000 after acquiring an additional 129,613 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s free cash flow increased 24.4% in the second quarter, supporting expectations for stronger 2026 cash generation. Cost savings and continued network investment could improve financial flexibility and help support the company’s dividend. Verizon Delivers Strong Free Cash Flow Growth: Can Momentum Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s agreement with Corning to receive more than 80 million fiber miles through 2032 provides long-term visibility for network modernization. The spending could strengthen Verizon’s backhaul capacity as data traffic and AI-related bandwidth demand grow. Meta Platforms’ Petal Cable Puts Corning at the Center of AI’s Bandwidth Boom

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.97.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total value of $54,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,326,168.68. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,400 shares of company stock worth $219,142. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.98. 9,421,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,304,016. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The business's 50-day moving average is $47.92 and its 200-day moving average is $47.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 73.70%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.

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