Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Cuts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,743 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 29,698 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,114,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,641,090 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $74,440,000 after acquiring an additional 313,457 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $5,484,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.9% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,205 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $43.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.63.

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).

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