Insider Selling: VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total value of $562,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 515,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, July 15th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.08, for a total value of $1,410,400.00.
• On Wednesday, July 9th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $578,580.00.
• On Tuesday, July 8th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total value of $1,424,100.00.
• On Wednesday, June 18th, D James Bidzos sold 4,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.87, for a total value of $1,127,480.00.
• On Tuesday, June 17th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.67, for a total value of $1,418,350.00.
• On Wednesday, June 11th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $558,560.00.
• On Tuesday, June 10th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total value of $1,383,550.00.
• On Wednesday, May 21st, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.66, for a total value of $561,320.00.
• On Tuesday, May 20th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total value of $1,402,000.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VeriSign stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $284.17. 475,381 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 753,908. The business has a fifty day moving average of $280.89 and a 200 day moving average of $252.72. The firm has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.49 and a 12-month high of $291.54.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The firm had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $8,310,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 190.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 953 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

About VeriSign

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.