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

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ). In a filing disclosed on January 15th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Verizon Communications stock on December 18th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “CHASE BROKERAGE ACCOUNT (3935)” account.

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

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Dover (NYSE:DOV) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) on 12/18/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) on 12/18/2025.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $38.95. 38,673,909 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,919,562. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.35 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $164.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.76.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approvals complete for Frontier acquisition — Verizon expects the transaction to close Jan. 20, bringing roughly 30 million fiber passings and enabling cross‑selling of fiber and 5G services, which could materially expand growth runway and ARPU over time. GlobeNewswire: Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile wins Pentagon contract — headlines lifted ASTS shares and remind investors Verizon has partnerships with LEO satellite providers, which could support future wholesale or coverage initiatives, but the news is primarily a catalyst for ASTS rather than VZ. MarketBeat: Pentagon Deal Sends AST SpaceMobile Soaring
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread outage and $20 customer credits — a multi‑hour nationwide outage tied to a software issue triggered customer complaints and scrutiny; Verizon is offering a $20 redeemable credit to affected users, which raises short‑term costs and reputational risk and has prompted calls for mandatory refunds. This outage is the principal near‑term negative driving sentiment. Investopedia: Why Verizon Customers Are Getting $20 Payouts
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target cut — Sanford C. Bernstein trimmed its VZ target from $46 to $44 and moved to Market Perform, signaling more cautious near‑term expectations; the change tempers upside in the short term. TickerReport / Benzinga: Analyst Price Target Cut

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Cadinha & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% during the second quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,046,000 after purchasing an additional 336,190 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $309,551,000 after acquiring an additional 722,559 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 378.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after buying an additional 74,151 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 555,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,427,000 after purchasing an additional 43,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 2,762,705 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $121,421,000 after acquiring an additional 151,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% 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.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.