VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto Sells 498 Shares

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.71, for a total transaction of $123,857.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,613,759.23. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $249.31 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06 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.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 56.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 0.8% during the third 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 period. Finally, Gries Financial LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.8% during the second 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 last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.