Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO Sells 2,000 Shares of 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, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.25, for a total value of $488,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 423,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,341,930.75. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, December 16th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.79, for a total value of $1,208,950.00.
• On Wednesday, December 10th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.07, for a total value of $484,140.00.
• On Tuesday, December 9th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total value of $1,222,950.00.
• On Wednesday, November 19th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.05, for a total value of $492,100.00.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total value of $1,250,250.00.
• On Wednesday, November 12th, D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock. The stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $528,120.00.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.5%

VeriSign stock traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $244.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 799,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,630. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $191.12 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $249.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.82.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth about $348,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter worth approximately $1,561,000. Finally, Investment Research Partners LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter worth approximately $427,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

About VeriSign

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.