Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Grows Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 544,473 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 31,560 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.6% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 20,473 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 76.6% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 106,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,463,000 after purchasing an additional 46,335 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 132.3% in the third quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,044 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 8,569 shares during the period. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $306,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Verizon Communications by 7.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,227,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $201,835,000 after buying an additional 416,261 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.43. 11,125,524 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,676,326. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.23.

Verizon Communications Company 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).