Equitable Holdings Inc. Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Equitable Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 228,258 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 61,191 shares during the quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 55,232 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH grew its position in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the second quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH now owns 105,194 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after buying an additional 7,182 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.9% in the second quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 18,223 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $531,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,507 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,825.96. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.