VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells $1,337,150.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.43, for a total transaction of $1,337,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 462,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,670,061.77. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Wednesday, October 22nd, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction of $523,080.00.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.06, for a total transaction of $528,120.00.
• On Tuesday, October 14th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total transaction of $532,900.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $247.08 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 41.04%. The business had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% 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 share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.90%.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 118.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $55,924,000 after acquiring an additional 119,368 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth $351,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 35.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.50.

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.