D James Bidzos Sells 3,300 Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.40, for a total transaction of $938,520.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 391,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,378,718.80. This represents a 0.84% decrease in their position. 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, September 1st, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.09, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $960,828.00.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, D. 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. 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 shares were 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 stock was sold at an average price of $270.44, for a total value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $820,149.00.
• On Tuesday, June 16th, D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.22, for a total value of $904,926.00.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $4.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $286.94. The stock had a trading volume of 743,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,106. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.21. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The stock has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VRSN shares. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $333.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,612 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 2.2% during the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 4,062 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in VeriSign by 971.9% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 171,145 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $43,053,000 after purchasing an additional 155,179 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in VeriSign by 15.1% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 1,967 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 35.9% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

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.