VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $828,102.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 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 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 transaction 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 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

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $256.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $279.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.58. The stock has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after acquiring an additional 321,737 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $976,700,000 after acquiring an additional 496,674 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 1.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $699,916,000 after purchasing an additional 38,800 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,491,035 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $362,247,000 after purchasing an additional 246,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $312,900,000. 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.