Evolution Wealth Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,336 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $620,000. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.8% of Evolution Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,696 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.2% during the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 337,634 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,315,000 after buying an additional 36,821 shares in the last quarter. Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,966 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 83,637 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after acquiring an additional 9,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.42 and its 200 day moving average is $42.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $172.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.31.

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).