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

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.54, for a total transaction of $978,582.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 409,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,474,349.06. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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, 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 value 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 value 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $292.53 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $273.98 and a 200 day moving average of $262.06. The firm has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush boosted their price target on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $328.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.8% during the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.