D James Bidzos Sells 2,000 Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

D James Bidzos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 13th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total transaction of $1,241,000.00.
• On Wednesday, December 17th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.25, for a total transaction of $488,500.00.
• On Tuesday, December 16th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.79, for a total value of $1,208,950.00.
• On Wednesday, December 10th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.07, for a total value of $484,140.00.
• On Tuesday, December 9th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total value of $1,222,950.00.
• On Wednesday, November 19th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.05, for a total value of $492,100.00.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $1,250,250.00.
• On Wednesday, November 12th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total value of $502,540.00.
• On Tuesday, November 11th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.14, for a total value of $1,240,700.00.
• On Wednesday, October 22nd, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $523,080.00.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of VRSN traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $249.22. The company had a trading volume of 540,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,902. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.89. The company has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05 and a beta of 0.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.37 and a 12-month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.90%.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 16,317 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 32,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,816,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,244 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on VRSN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.00.

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.