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

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 401,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,525,933.65. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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, 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 value 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 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 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $273.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.18.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 35.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $328.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Danske Bank A S grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 64,246 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,609,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,495,000 after buying an additional 22,020 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,886,000 after buying an additional 3,691 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in VeriSign by 208.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after buying an additional 9,046 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,352 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,973,000 after buying an additional 5,267 shares in the last quarter. 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.