Thomas Indelicarto Sells 500 Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,954,280. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $7.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $281.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 151,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,468. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $275.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 35.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 25.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in VeriSign by 122.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.