VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $141,770.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Stock Down 3.0%

NASDAQ VRSN traded down $8.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $279.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 700,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,247. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $282.10 and a 200 day moving average of $255.31. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $312.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. VeriSign’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.