Analyzing Verizon’s Dividend Profile

Telecom giant Verizon (VZ) has been returning cash to its shareholders and boosting its dividend payments for the last few years. On March 8, the company announced a rise in its quarterly dividend. The telecom company’s board will now pay a dividend of $0.6025 per share, a rise of ~2.1% from the dividend of $0.59 per share in the year-ago quarter and unchanged from the prior quarter. The dividends are payable on May 1 to shareholders of record on April 10.

Verizon paid total dividends of $9.8 billion in the full-year 2018. The company remains committed to paying higher dividends in spite of its high debt balance of $113.1 billion at the end of December 31.

A company’s dividend yield indicates how much it pays out in dividends each year relative to its stock price. As of March 11, Verizon’s dividend yield was ~4.2%. It was lower than AT&T’s (T) at ~6.8%. Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS) don’t pay equity dividends.