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 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 Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $38.95 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.75. The stock has a market cap of $164.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.34. 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 1-year low of $38.35 and a 1-year high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Hudock Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camden National Bank grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.25.

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 (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.