Key Points
- VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares on June 23 at an average price of $248.53, totaling about $820,149. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, and his direct ownership fell slightly by 0.76%.
- Bidzos has been selling 3,300 shares weekly in recent weeks, with prior sales on June 16, June 9, and June 2 at progressively higher prices than the latest transaction.
- VeriSign reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.34 and revenue of $428.9 million, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $327.67.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.53, for a total transaction of $820,149.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 429,439 shares in the company, valued at $106,728,474.67. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 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 Up 2.0%
VRSN opened at $252.08 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $312.48. The company's 50-day moving average price is $282.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.22. The stock has a market cap of $22.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85 and a beta of 0.69.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup upped their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $327.67.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on VeriSign
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About VeriSign
(
Get Free Report)
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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