Rep. Pete Sessions Sells Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares

Representative Pete Sessions (Republican-Texas) recently sold shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ). In a filing disclosed on March 09th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Verizon Communications stock on March 9th.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of VZ opened at $50.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $213.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.66.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded VZ to Outperform and raised its price target to $54.50 after meetings with management — a direct bullish catalyst that supports higher near-term upside and investor confidence. Scotiabank Lifts Verizon to Outperform
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer increased its price target to $56 and keeps an Outperform rating (about a ~10% upside from current levels) — another independent upgrade adding analyst-driven buying interest.
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell sharply in February (down ~23.5% to ~113.5M shares, ~2.7% of float; ~4.3 days to cover). Less short exposure reduces downside pressure and raises the prospect of short-covering rallies.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage/valuation pieces are drawing attention to recent share-price momentum and relative cheapness given VZ’s earnings/guidance; these articles can attract investors doing deeper due diligence but don’t move fundamentals immediately. Valuation Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s presentation/transcript from the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom conference is available — useful for earnings/guidance color but only incremental unless management disclosed new guidance. Deutsche Bank Presentation Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/capital-markets note: Amazon’s massive $37B bond deal highlights renewed large-scale corporate issuance — this can affect broader credit market liquidity and borrowing costs, which are an indirect factor for capital-intensive companies like Verizon. Amazon Bond Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion pieces (e.g., “3 Stocks I Sold Last Week”) mentioned cutting some resilient/low-growth names — relevance to VZ is unclear without explicit inclusion, but such narratives can pressure investor sentiment in dividend/utility-like names. 3 Stocks I Sold

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Triton Wealth Management PLLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Hudock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Representative Sessions

Pete Sessions (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 17th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2021. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Sessions (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 17th Congressional District. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

On October 20, 2023, Sessions announced he was running to replace Kevin McCarthy (R) as speaker of the U.S. House in the 118th Congress. Sessions lost the first round of nomination voting on October 24, 2023.

Pete Sessions was born and lives in Waco, Texas. Sessions earned a B.S. from Southwestern University in 1978. Sessions’ career experience includes working as an executive with AT&T.

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.