VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 3,138,705 Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 3.14 million Verizon shares worth approximately $132.9 million, making Verizon its 17th-largest holding and representing 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Analysts maintain a broadly cautious outlook: Verizon has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.97, despite some firms raising their targets and TD Cowen issuing a “Buy” rating.
• Verizon beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, but revenue of $34.25 billion fell short of estimates and declined 0.7% year over year.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,138,705 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $132,893,000. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.8% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.08% of Verizon Communications at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.15 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $208.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.47.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,437,133. This represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,300 shares of company stock valued at $164,164. 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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