Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) announced its normal $0.53 per share common stock dividend after the close on Friday. Its headline focused on the dividend, which may have led many investors to overlook the news. The real news is that Verizon is boosting its stock buyback plan.
This dividend is unchanged from the previous quarter and is payable on May 1, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 10, 2014. The company made $5.9 billion in cash dividend payments in 2013.
Verizon voted in favor of repurchasing up to 100 million shares of its common stock. Its prior plan terminated on February 28, 2014. Under the expired program, Verizon had purchased only 3.5 million shares.
The new 100 million share program is for the same number of shares as the prior plan. It is also for the same three-year duration.
This new buyback might not sound like huge news on the surface, but you have to recall that Verizon was tied up for quite some time in its purchase of the remaining stake in Verizon Wireless from Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD). Verizon also recently issued many shares to Vodafone, so it seems possible that this would allow Verizon to keep a bunch of new shares from hitting the market all at once.
Verizon said that it has approximately 4.1 billion shares of common stock outstanding.
Are You Still Paying With a Debit Card?
The average American spends $17,274 on debit cards a year, and it’s a HUGE mistake. First, debit cards don’t have the same fraud protections as credit cards. Once your money is gone, it’s gone. But more importantly you can actually get something back from this spending every time you swipe.
Issuers are handing out wild bonuses right now. With some you can earn up to 5% back on every purchase. That’s like getting a 5% discount on everything you buy!
Our top pick is kind of hard to imagine. Not only does it pay up to 5% back, it also includes a $200 cash back reward in the first six months, a 0% intro APR, and…. $0 annual fee. It’s quite literally free money for any one that uses a card regularly. Click here to learn more!
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings to provide coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.