IPOs, M&A, and Dividends: Taking A Look At Year-End News Catalysts

In the midst of a dramatic start to December, market news has taken a backseat to a surge in volatility and reactionary trading.

However, volatility doesn’t stop the headlines, and there’s still big catalysts on the horizon from companies across the market in the coming weeks that have the potential to cause some volatility. Using the news aggregated by stock research platform Finscreener, let’s take a look at some of the top company news items at play in the final few trading days of 2018.

Tencent Music’s IPO

Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holding ADR TCEHY finally held its IPO for its music streaming service earlier this week. Tencent Music Entertainment Group TME offered 82 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday at $13. By Friday afternoon shares were down to $12.50

Oncomed Merger With Rare Disease Biotech Mereo

As was previously reported, Oncomed Pharmaceuticals Inc. OMED and rare drug development company Mereo BioPharma Group finalized a merger deal set to take effect early 2019. The merger aims to provide Mereo access to the US equity market.

Verizon Declares Quarterly Dividend

While it’s not set for disbursement until February 2019, Verizon Communications Inc. VZ announced via press release its quarterly dividend payment of $0.6025. This marks a 51.8 percent drop from the company’s previous $1.25 dividend, although it is still on pace with its typical annual growth rate of just above 2 percent. The record date for shareholders looking to collect the distribution is January 10, 2019.

Conagra Brands Announces Quarterly Dividend Payment

Finally, a press release appeared last Thursday on the Finscreener dividend news section that Conagra Brands Inc CAG had also announced its quarterly dividend at $0.2125 per share in March 2019. This is a drop of about 23 basis points from the company’s prior $0.213 disbursement. The record date for Conagra shareholders to collect the dividend is January 30, 2019.

Finscreener is a content partner of Benzinga