VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $484,140.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.07, for a total value of $484,140.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 432,099 shares in the company, valued at $104,598,204.93. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, December 9th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00.
• On Wednesday, November 19th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.05, for a total transaction of $492,100.00.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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.
• On Tuesday, October 21st, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.43, for a total value of $1,337,150.00.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.06, for a total value of $528,120.00.
• On Tuesday, October 14th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total value of $1,327,850.00.
• On Wednesday, September 17th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total value of $576,960.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $242.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $251.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $269.55. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $191.12 and a 12-month high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 56.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 112.5% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.67.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.