VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $981,651.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $294.92 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $279.96 and a 200-day moving average of $254.49. The stock has a market cap of $26.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59 and a beta of 0.69.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.67.

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.