VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $146,175.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total transaction of $146,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 34,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,100,984.85. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $287.15 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $273.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.42. The company has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.