VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos Sells 3,300 Shares of Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,513,229.51. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

D James Bidzos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 30th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total transaction of $828,102.00.
• On Tuesday, June 23rd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.53, for a total transaction of $820,149.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $904,926.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.29, for a total value of $938,157.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.3%

VRSN stock opened at $267.58 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.14.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupe la Francaise lifted its stake in VeriSign by 2.8% during the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 2.1% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.