Rempart Asset Management Inc. Has $8.13 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 29.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,190 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 45,790 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.6% of Rempart Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Rempart Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their price target 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, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.67. 4,188,115 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,811,141. The company has a market cap of $162.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.85. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.56 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.01%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

About Verizon Communications

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).