Rep. Emily Randall Sells Off Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

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 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.06. The stock had a trading volume of 17,050,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,810,896. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one 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 market cap of $172.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.99 and its 200-day moving average is $41.56.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,095,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Burney Co. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).