Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 59,518 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 387,703 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 59,518 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.7% in the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 9,797 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,974,352 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $88,668,000 after purchasing an additional 296,583 shares in the last quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, BCGM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the third quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,762 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after buying an additional 1,445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.67 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $183.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.93.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).