Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Has $455.67 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,394,590 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 53,039 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.27% of Verizon Communications worth $455,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,488 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 242,280 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,689,000 after buying an additional 18,115 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1,088.0% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 73,168 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,926,000 after buying an additional 67,009 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $61,141,000. Finally, Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 6,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.82.

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).