Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Plans $0.68 Quarterly Dividend

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 28th, RTT News reports. Investors 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 annualized dividend 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 payout ratio of 55.8% meaning 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 Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $181.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.20 and its 200 day moving average is $41.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

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).