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

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.67 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $183.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.93.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).