Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1,773.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 160,333 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 151,777 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 2.9% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $39.34. 13,346,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,931,412. The company has a market cap of $165.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.32 and its 200 day moving average is $38.95.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).