Insider Selling: VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $264.15, totaling $1,320,750, resulting in a 0.97% decrease in his ownership.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.77 on August 27th, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 36.75%.
• VeriSign's board authorized a $1.11 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, August 13th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total transaction of $532,900.00.
• On Wednesday, July 16th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total transaction of $562,700.00.
• On Tuesday, July 15th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.08, for a total transaction of $1,410,400.00.
• On Wednesday, July 9th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total transaction of $578,580.00.
• On Tuesday, July 8th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction 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.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $0.68 on Thursday, hitting $266.82. 859,735 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,182,776. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.62 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $280.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.93.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 226 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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