D James Bidzos Sells 5,000 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.82, for a total transaction of $1,424,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 526,772 shares in the company, valued at $150,035,201.04. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 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 shares were 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 transaction of $561,320.00.
• On Tuesday, May 20th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.40, for a total transaction of $1,402,000.00.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $3.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $281.39. The company had a trading volume of 532,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 758,827. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $172.49 and a one year high of $291.54. The company has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average is $281.09 and its 200-day moving average is $249.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.23% and a negative return on equity of 41.37%. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.44 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 37.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,512 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,437 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $11,865,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $8,310,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,934 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.

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.