Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, on 7/8/15, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ), NetApp, Inc. (NASD: NTAP), and AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) will all trade ex-dividend for their respective upcoming dividends. Verizon Communications Inc will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.55 on 8/3/15, NetApp, Inc. will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.18 on 7/23/15, and AT&T Inc will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.47 on 8/3/15.
As a percentage of VZ's recent stock price of $47.05, this dividend works out to approximately 1.17%, so look for shares of Verizon Communications Inc to trade 1.17% lower — all else being equal — when VZ shares open for trading on 7/8/15. Similarly, investors should look for NTAP to open 0.58% lower in price and for T to open 1.32% lower, all else being equal.
Below are dividend history charts for VZ, NTAP, and T, showing historical dividends prior to the most recent ones declared.
Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ):
In general, dividends are not always predictable, following the ups and downs of company profits over time. Therefore, a good first due diligence step in forming an expectation of annual yield going forward, is looking at the history above, for a sense of stability over time. This can help in judging whether the most recent dividends from these companies are likely to continue. If they do continue, the current estimated yields on annualized basis would be 4.68% for Verizon Communications Inc, 2.31% for NetApp, Inc., and 5.28% for AT&T. In general, most investors consider any yield over 7% to be high yield stocks.
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In Monday trading, Verizon Communications Inc shares are currently down about 0.3%, NetApp, Inc. shares are down about 1%, and AT&T Inc shares are off about 0.4% on the day.
