Rep. Emily Randall Sells Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock

Representative Emily Randall (D-Washington) recently sold shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ). In a filing disclosed on February 11th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Verizon Communications stock on January 6th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “GARRET D. LEAHEY 2019 IRREVOCABLE F/B/O ALISON LEAHEY” account.

Representative Emily Randall also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) on 1/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 1/6/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) on 1/6/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) on 1/6/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) on 1/6/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fortive (NYSE:FTV) on 1/6/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on 1/6/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) on 1/6/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) on 1/6/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) on 1/6/2025.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.06 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $172.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.56.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,862,441,000 after buying an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $2,300,846,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,473,557,000 after buying an additional 990,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

About Representative Randall

Emily Randall (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Washington’s 6th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Randall (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Washington’s 6th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Emily Randall was born in Port Orchard, Washington, and lives in Bremerton, Washington. Randall earned bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and women’s studies from Wellesley College in 2008. Her career experience includes working as a development professional with Wellesley College, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Legal Voice.

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).