VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $904,926.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $904,926.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 432,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $118,665,688.58. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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, 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 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 traded down $8.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $264.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 612,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 812,138. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.99. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The company has a market cap of $24.11 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 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 boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perpetual Ltd grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,647,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 152.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 186,029 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Sienna Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,139,000. 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.