VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 422,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,513,229.51. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 30th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.94, for a total transaction of $828,102.00.
- On Tuesday, June 23rd, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.53, for a total value 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 value of $981,651.00.
VeriSign Price Performance
VRSN opened at $267.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $279.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.14. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business 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 earned $2.10 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.80%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $327.67.
Read Our Latest Research Report on VRSN
VeriSign Company Profile
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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.
Further Reading

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