Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $1,355,100.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Danny Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $272.44 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.05. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 0.68.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter worth about $29,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently 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.