VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $820,149.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.53, for a total transaction of $820,149.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 429,439 shares in the company, valued at $106,728,474.67. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 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 value of $904,926.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was 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 shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $4.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $252.08. 1,133,767 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 833,617. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $282.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.20. The company has a market cap of $22.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in VeriSign by 788.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.