Rep. Julie Johnson Sells Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ). In a filing disclosed on February 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Verizon Communications stock on January 15th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH TAX EFFICIENT CORE” account.

Representative Julie Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) on 1/28/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 1/28/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) on 1/28/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) on 1/28/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) on 1/27/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) on 1/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 1/24/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Chubb (NYSE:CB) on 1/24/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on 1/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) on 1/17/2025.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.00. 12,430,351 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,606,066. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.94 and a 200-day moving average of $41.56. The stock has a market cap of $172.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $983,445,000 after acquiring an additional 6,153,408 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Johnson

Julie Johnson (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Julie Johnson earned a B.A. in history and government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1991. Johnson’s career experience includes working as an attorney.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).