Key Points
- VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares on August 25 at an average price of $291.16, generating $960,828. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, leaving him with 398,089 shares.
- Bidzos has conducted a series of identical 3,300-share sales since June, indicating a recurring insider-selling pattern rather than a one-time transaction.
- VeriSign recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $328.75. The stock opened at $292.99 and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.81.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.16, for a total value of $960,828.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 398,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,907,593.24. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, August 18th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.85, for a total value of $916,905.00.
- On Tuesday, August 4th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.54, for a total value of $978,582.00.
- On Tuesday, July 28th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total value of $927,960.00.
- On Tuesday, July 21st, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.44, for a total value of $892,452.00.
- On Tuesday, July 7th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00.
- On Tuesday, June 30th, D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was 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 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 shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00.
VeriSign Stock Down 0.3%
Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $292.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $273.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.69.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have commented on VRSN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $328.75.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on VeriSign
Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 30,008.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 34,563,589 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $8,694,816,000 after buying an additional 34,448,791 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,116,154,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,900,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $172,641,000. 92.90% of the stock is 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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