VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $140,000.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,954,280. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $286.58 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $274.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08 and a beta of 0.71.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock 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. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $328.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,495,000 after acquiring an additional 22,020 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 64,246 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,609,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,179,000 after purchasing an additional 11,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.