Key Points
- VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares on June 30 at an average price of $250.94, for proceeds of about $828,102. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
- Bidzos has been selling 3,300 shares repeatedly in recent weeks, including transactions on June 23, June 16, June 9, and June 2. After the latest sale, he still held 426,139 shares worth roughly $106.9 million.
- VeriSign recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.34 versus estimates of $2.30 and revenue of $428.9 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding about 1.3%.
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 value of $828,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 426,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $106,935,320.66. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00.
VeriSign Stock Performance
Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $255.90 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The company has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 0.71. The company's fifty day moving average is $280.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.48.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors 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 was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 35.80%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at about $312,900,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,686,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $976,700,000 after buying an additional 496,674 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 191.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 626,570 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $152,225,000 after buying an additional 411,728 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1,035.6% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 420,830 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $117,651,000 after buying an additional 383,771 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.67.
Get Our Latest Analysis on VeriSign
VeriSign Company Profile
(
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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