VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $1,029,567.00 in Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares for about $1.03 million at an average price of $311.99, under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. He retained 365,227 shares after the sale.
• The sale was part of a series of weekly 3,300-share sales dating back to August. VeriSign shares traded up 1.3% to $318.03 in Wednesday trading.
• VeriSign’s latest quarterly revenue rose 5.7% year over year to $443 million, but EPS of $2.35 fell short of analysts’ $2.46 estimate; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.99, for a total transaction of $1,029,567.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 365,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $113,947,171.73. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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, October 27th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.67, for a total transaction of $1,002,111.00.
• On Tuesday, October 20th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.30, for a total transaction of $1,010,790.00.
• On Tuesday, October 13th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.85, for a total transaction of $999,405.00.
• On Tuesday, October 6th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.33, for a total transaction of $964,689.00.
• On Tuesday, September 29th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.78, for a total transaction of $919,974.00.
• On Tuesday, September 22nd, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.74, for a total transaction of $1,005,642.00.
• 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 transaction of $938,520.00.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were 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.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $4.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $318.03. 1,446,283 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 840,837. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $296.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.01. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $324.20. The company has a market cap of $28.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20 and a beta of 0.66.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $443.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $440.58 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.06% and a negative return on equity of 38.40%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.27 EPS. Equities analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of VeriSign from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $352.00.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in VeriSign by 208.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,385 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,324,000 after acquiring an additional 9,046 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,116,154,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $944,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 237,966 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $59,272,000 after purchasing an additional 33,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 86.9% during the 1st quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 20,786 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,162,000 after purchasing an additional 9,664 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN provides internet infrastructure services that support the global domain name system. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains and provides registry services for certain other domains, helping maintain the databases that connect domain names with internet addresses.

The company's services include domain name registry operations, domain name registration-related support for accredited registrars, and infrastructure designed to improve the availability, stability, and security of internet naming services.

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