VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto Sells 166 Shares

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $41,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,777,750. The trade was a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $248.66. The stock had a trading volume of 479,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,370. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $246.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.63. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.37 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98 and a beta of 0.77.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS 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 business had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research downgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 32.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares in the last quarter. Amiral Gestion bought a new position in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,483,000. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,844,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 103.6% in the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 64,938 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $18,754,000 after acquiring an additional 33,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 68,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,208,000 after acquiring an additional 13,837 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.