Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells 3,300 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares on June 30 at an average price of $250.94, totaling $828,102. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, and his direct stake fell by 0.77% to 426,139 shares.
• Bidzos has been selling shares repeatedly in recent weeks, with similar 3,300-share sales reported on June 2, June 9, June 16, and June 23. The sale prices ranged from $248.53 to $297.47, indicating a pattern of ongoing insider selling.
• VeriSign reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $2.34 beating estimates and revenue of $428.9 million topping forecasts. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, implying a 1.3% yield.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total transaction of $828,102.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 426,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at $106,935,320.66. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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, June 23rd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.53, for a total transaction of $820,149.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total transaction of $904,926.00.
• On Tuesday, June 9th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.29, for a total transaction of $938,157.00.
• On Tuesday, June 2nd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $4.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $255.90. 635,653 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 832,851. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $280.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $327.67.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st 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 period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 12.3% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign's registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.

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