VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos Sells 5,000 Shares

Key Points

• VeriSign CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock on September 16th for a total of $1,436,700, which marked a 1.03% decrease in his ownership.
• The company's stock traded at $287.77, experiencing a slight increase of 0.1%, with a market capitalization of $26.88 billion.
• VeriSign announced a share buyback program of up to $1.11 billion, indicating the board believes the shares are undervalued.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.34, for a total transaction of $1,436,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 480,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,049,342.26. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

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

• On Wednesday, September 17th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total transaction of $576,960.00.
• On Wednesday, September 10th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.87, for a total transaction of $567,740.00.
• On Tuesday, September 9th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.24, for a total transaction of $1,416,200.00.
• On Wednesday, August 20th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total transaction of $541,420.00.
• On Tuesday, August 19th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.43, for a total value of $1,342,150.00.
• 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 Tuesday, August 12th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00.
• On Wednesday, July 16th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $282.08, for a total value 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.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.1%

VRSN stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $287.77. 521,543 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 659,437. The company's fifty day moving average price is $277.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.31. The firm has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth approximately $563,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,788 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in VeriSign by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,149 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,778 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $1,027,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.