Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.68 on May 1st

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 28th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.6775 per share by the cell phone carrier on Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%.

Verizon Communications has raised its dividend by an average of 1.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 20 consecutive years. Verizon Communications has a dividend payout ratio of 55.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Verizon Communications to earn $4.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.71 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.8%.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $181.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.71. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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