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 company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was 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 directly owned 426,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,935,320.66. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 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 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 Stock Up 1.7%

VeriSign stock traded up $4.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $255.90. 635,653 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 832,851. The stock has a market cap of $23.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $280.63 and its 200-day moving average is $256.40.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in VeriSign by 159.6% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,647,000. Vestcor Inc raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.2% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 85,503 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $23,904,000 after acquiring an additional 10,637 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 152.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,922,000 after purchasing an additional 186,029 shares during the period. Finally, Sienna Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,139,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.