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

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 1.1% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $42.06 and last traded at $41.70. Approximately 25,215,685 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily 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. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.73 and its 200 day moving average is $42.36.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. 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 worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $240,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.7% during the first quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 48,011 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,567 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).