VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $916,905.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.85, for a total transaction of $916,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 401,389 shares in the company, valued at $111,525,933.65. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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, August 4th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.54, for a total transaction of $978,582.00.
• On Tuesday, July 28th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total transaction of $927,960.00.
• On Tuesday, July 21st, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.44, for a total value of $892,452.00.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00.
• 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 stock was sold at an average price of $248.53, for a total value 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 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 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 value of $981,651.00.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

VeriSign stock traded down $3.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $273.03. The company had a trading volume of 487,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,241. The stock has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.98. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRSN. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $328.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 104.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.