Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.1% After Dividend Announcement

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $42.06 and last traded at $41.70. Approximately 25,215,685 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 22,611,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.26.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.38.

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

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 135.8% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,342 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 10,562 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,983,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.0% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 38,782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).