VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.43, for a total value of $1,337,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 462,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,670,061.77. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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 value of $523,080.00.
• 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.
• 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 shares were 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 stock was 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 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 stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $266.45, for a total value of $532,900.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $250.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.62 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $274.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.39.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results 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 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The company had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

VeriSign announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at approximately $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted 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 buying an additional 119,368 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter worth about $351,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 35.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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