Key Points
- VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares for approximately $978,714 at an average price of $296.58, reducing his direct stake by 0.84% to 388,327 shares. The sale was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
- The transaction continues a pattern of weekly sales by Bidzos, who has sold 3,300 shares in multiple transactions since June, with individual sale values ranging from roughly $820,000 to $979,000.
- VeriSign reported quarterly revenue growth of 6% and EPS of $2.38, slightly exceeding estimates. Analysts maintain an overall “Buy” consensus with an average price target of $333, while institutional investors own 92.9% of the company.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.58, for a total transaction of $978,714.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 388,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,170,021.66. The trade was a 0.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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, September 8th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.40, for a total value of $938,520.00.
- On Tuesday, September 1st, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.09, for a total value of $960,597.00.
- On Tuesday, August 25th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.16, for a total value of $960,828.00.
- On Tuesday, August 18th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.85, for a total value of $916,905.00.
- On Tuesday, August 4th, D. 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. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.20, for a total value of $927,960.00.
- On Tuesday, July 21st, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.44, for a total transaction of $892,452.00.
- On Tuesday, July 7th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00.
- On Tuesday, June 30th, D. 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. 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.
VeriSign Price Performance
Shares of VRSN stock opened at $298.46 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $284.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.49.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.00.
Get Our Latest Research Report on VRSN
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,116,154,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $699,916,000 after buying an additional 38,800 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $312,900,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 960,991 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $233,473,000 after buying an additional 71,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.
VeriSign Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is a global provider of internet infrastructure and domain name registry services. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the systems that support the registration and resolution of millions of internet addresses worldwide.
VeriSign's services include domain registry operations, Domain Name System (DNS) services, DNS security and stability solutions, and related internet infrastructure. Its systems help domain name registrars, businesses, governments and internet users access websites and online services reliably.
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