VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $79,955.56 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 332 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.83, for a total transaction of $79,955.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,532,439.91. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN traded down $2.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $243.78. 588,553 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 605,492. The stock has a market cap of $22.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 0.77. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.37 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.41.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The business had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its stake in VeriSign by 20.2% in the second quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gries Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

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.