Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $1,005,642.00 in Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares at an average price of $304.74, generating $1.01 million in proceeds. The transaction occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his ownership by 0.85% to 385,027 shares.
• The sale continues a recurring pattern of weekly disposals, with Bidzos selling 3,300 shares on multiple occasions since late June at prices ranging from $250.94 to $304.74.
• VeriSign shares recently traded at $293.28, while the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue slightly above analyst expectations. Analysts maintain an overall “Buy” rating with an average price target of $333, and the company pays a $3.24 annualized dividend.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.74, for a total transaction of $1,005,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 385,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $117,333,127.98. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 15th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.58, for a total transaction of $978,714.00.
• 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 value 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 value 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 stock was 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $828,102.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $6.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $293.28. 615,148 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 811,753. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $287.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in VeriSign by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 4.3% during the second quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.1% during the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 19.0% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.

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