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

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.48, for a total value of $576,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 478,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,020,082.72. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $1,320,750.00.
• On Wednesday, July 16th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total value of $562,700.00.
• On Tuesday, July 15th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.08, for a total value of $1,410,400.00.
• On Wednesday, July 9th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.29, for a total value of $578,580.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $285.88 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.11 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $277.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.62.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’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 announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.