D James Bidzos Sells 3,300 Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares for approximately $978,714 at an average price of $296.58. The sale was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing his stake by 0.84% to 388,327 shares.
• Bidzos has made a series of similar 3,300-share sales since June, indicating a recurring disposal pattern rather than a one-time transaction.
• VeriSign shares recently traded near $298.46, while analysts maintained an overall “Buy” consensus with an average price target of $333. The company also reported quarterly revenue growth of 6% and EPS that slightly exceeded estimates.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.58, for a total value of $978,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 388,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,170,021.66. The trade was a 0.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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, September 8th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.40, for a total transaction of $938,520.00.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.09, for a total transaction of $960,597.00.
• On Tuesday, August 25th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.16, for a total value of $960,828.00.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.85, for a total value of $916,905.00.
• On Tuesday, August 4th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.54, for a total value of $978,582.00.
• On Tuesday, July 28th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total value of $927,960.00.
• On Tuesday, July 21st, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.44, for a total value of $892,452.00.
• On Tuesday, July 7th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total value of $878,097.00.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total value of $828,102.00.
• On Tuesday, June 23rd, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.53, for a total value of $820,149.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN stock traded up $1.20 on Wednesday, reaching $298.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 638,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 807,402. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.98. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on VRSN. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $333.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 40.5% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 243 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN is a global provider of internet infrastructure and domain name registry services. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the systems that support the registration and resolution of millions of internet addresses worldwide.

VeriSign's services include domain registry operations, Domain Name System (DNS) services, DNS security and stability solutions, and related internet infrastructure. Its systems help domain name registrars, businesses, governments and internet users access websites and online services reliably.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.