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

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) 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. 25,215,685 shares traded hands 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 paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

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

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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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).