Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,130 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 283 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $2,015,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 40,490 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 100,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,161,000 after buying an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3,968.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 453,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $18,705,000 after acquiring an additional 442,411 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $45.00 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $45.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.24 and its 200-day moving average is $40.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.66.

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).