VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $145,390.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.78, for a total value of $145,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,710,598.10. This trade represents a 1.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.4%

VeriSign stock opened at $292.08 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48. The company has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.68 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.88.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush boosted their target price on VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.00.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the first 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 period. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in 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.