Verizon boosts dividend, but shares fall
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), the No. 2 U.S. phone service provider, boosted its quarterly dividend to 46 cents per share on Thursday, up 3 cents from the third quarter.
But the stock fell as investors had already factored in the hike which Verizon said in late July it would consider, and as bearish sentiment weighed on the overall technology market.
On an annual basis, the dividend will rise to $1.84 per share from $1.72, Verizon said. It will be payable on November 3 to shareholders of record as of October 10.
The dividend increase is Verizon's first since September 2007. The company has about 2.8 billion common shares outstanding.
Verizon Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg said in a statement on Thursday the dividend increase was a sign of the company's ability to return value to shareholders while investing in its network.
Verizon sells both wireless and traditional wireline and Internet services. Shareholders have been wary of the heavy spending on its FiOS advanced, all-fiber network for high-speed Web and video services.
Earlier, communications equipment vendor Ciena Corp (CIEN.O) lowered its sales outlook, blaming slower spending decisions by its U.S. customers. Analysts say that includes Verizon as well as AT&T Inc (T.N) and Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N).
On the New York Stock Exchange, Verizon fell 4.2 percent to close at $34.21, AT&T slid 2.6 percent to $31.58, and Sprint dropped 6.2 percent to $8.04.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Richard Chang)
