VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos Sells 2,000 Shares

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.06, for a total transaction of $528,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 469,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,960,062.34. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

D James Bidzos also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, October 14th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.57, for a total transaction of $1,327,850.00.
• On Wednesday, September 17th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total transaction of $576,960.00.
• On Tuesday, September 16th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.34, for a total transaction of $1,436,700.00.
• On Wednesday, September 10th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.87, for a total transaction of $567,740.00.
• On Tuesday, September 9th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.24, for a total transaction of $1,416,200.00.
• On Wednesday, August 20th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.71, for a total transaction of $541,420.00.
• On Tuesday, August 19th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.43, for a total transaction of $1,342,150.00.
• On Wednesday, August 13th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total transaction of $532,900.00.
• On Tuesday, August 12th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total transaction of $1,320,750.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $259.79 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.97.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The business had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $277.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 56.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.