VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Danny Mcpherson Sells 3,256 Shares of Company Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Danny Mcpherson sold 3,256 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.89, for a total value of $989,465.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,548 shares in the company, valued at $9,283,231.72. This represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $304.04 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $294.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.50.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $443.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $440.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $352.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 64.6% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 260 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) provides internet infrastructure services that support the global domain name system. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains and provides registry services for certain other domains, helping maintain the databases that connect domain names with internet addresses.

The company’s services include domain name registry operations, domain name registration-related support for accredited registrars, and infrastructure designed to improve the availability, stability, and security of internet naming services.