Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 1.1% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 1.1% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $42.06 and last traded at $41.70. 25,215,685 shares traded hands during mid-day 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $175.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.73 and a 200-day moving average of $42.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. WBH Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $240,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1,028.5% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,028,345 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $46,646,000 after purchasing an additional 937,220 shares during the period. Finally, Lcnb Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 12,503 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).