Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.1% Following Dividend Announcement

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $43.81 and last traded at $43.56. 4,736,212 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 22,610,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.10.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.19%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.75. The company has a market cap of $184.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after purchasing an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 30,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.7% in the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,730 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 2,913 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,490,744 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $63,894,000 after buying an additional 321,706 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,308,611 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $193,500,000 after acquiring an additional 432,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).