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

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shot up 1.1% 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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 3.3 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $40.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 24,252 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $381,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $192,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $128,434,000. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $439,000. 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).