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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total transaction of $828,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 426,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,935,320.66. This trade represents a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 23rd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was 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 shares were sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $938,157.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN opened at $255.90 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.