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

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.54, for a total value of $523,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 460,439 shares in the company, valued at $120,423,216.06. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 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 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.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $250.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.39. 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 $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth $300,249,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 75.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,329,640 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $586,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,510 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 477.1% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 791,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $200,880,000 after purchasing an additional 654,170 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 161.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 860,068 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $248,388,000 after purchasing an additional 531,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 71.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $307,098,000 after purchasing an additional 500,223 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.