Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total transaction of $1,250,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 442,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,763,648.30. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, November 19th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.05, for a total transaction of $492,100.00.
• On Wednesday, November 12th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total transaction of $502,540.00.
• 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 transaction of $1,240,700.00.
• On Wednesday, October 22nd, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were 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 stock was 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 stock was 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was 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.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $2.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $248.42. 2,417,908 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,365. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.13. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.67 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The company had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.90%.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in 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 typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSN has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,118,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 174.8% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 576,395 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $161,143,000 after purchasing an additional 366,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 9.6% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,152 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.