VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos Sells 5,000 Shares

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.71, for a total transaction of $1,383,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 544,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $150,743,860.12. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, June 11th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $558,560.00.
• On Wednesday, May 21st, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $279.96. The stock had a trading volume of 168,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,466. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.49 and a 1-year high of $288.95. The company has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.36.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The company had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% during the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,183 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,461 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.