VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto Sells 250 Shares of Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total transaction of $67,307.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,010.73. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 Up 0.9%

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $269.98 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $279.27 and its 200 day moving average is $257.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 14.4% in the second quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,775 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. LifeGoal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at about $232,000. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 23,312 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,864,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 33,065 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.