VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $140,780.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at $8,752,855.72. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $290.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $274.47 and a 200 day moving average of $260.64.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.