Thomas Indelicarto Sells 498 Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,277,689.84. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN traded up $3.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $238.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 673,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 798,161. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.73.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The company had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 36.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,900,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after acquiring an additional 861,065 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in VeriSign by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,686,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 394.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $154,325,000 after buying an additional 440,289 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.