Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management reduced its Verizon stake by 26.2% in the second quarter, selling 541,593 shares and retaining 1.52 million shares valued at approximately $64.5 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 62.06%, with Norges Bank, Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Charles Schwab among major investors that increased their positions.
• Analysts generally remain cautious, assigning Verizon an average “Hold” rating and a $50.97 price target. The company beat quarterly EPS estimates but reported a 0.7% year-over-year revenue decline.

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,524,337 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 541,593 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $64,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Moffett Nathanson cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.50, for a total transaction of $55,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,437,133. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,300 shares of company stock worth $164,164. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.21 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $208.60 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company's 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, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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