Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,464,550 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 1,069,960 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of Verizon Communications worth $565,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $42.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,991,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,139,074. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $43.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $180.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.33%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% 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).