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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total transaction of $502,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 451,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,433,077.53. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, November 11th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.14, for a total value of $1,240,700.00.
• 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 value of $523,080.00.
• On Tuesday, October 21st, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.43, for a total value of $1,337,150.00.
• 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 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 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.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.5%

VRSN stock opened at $252.88 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $23.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $265.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.04.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The business had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.90%.

VeriSign announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $55,924,000 after acquiring an additional 119,368 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at about $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,664,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.67.

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.