VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $146,100.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.20, for a total transaction of $146,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,241,902.20. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.3%

VeriSign stock opened at $292.53 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $273.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.06. The stock has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $312.48.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $328.75.

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.