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

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.07, for a total value of $155,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,895 shares in the company, valued at $9,579,612.65. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.7%

VeriSign stock traded up $5.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $311.11. The stock had a trading volume of 619,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,532. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.91 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45 and a beta of 0.66. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $324.63.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 49.06%. The firm had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $440.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush raised their price target on VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded VeriSign from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $352.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 232.7% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 7,850 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 10,213 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,880,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 122.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 59,390 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $16,749,000 after purchasing an additional 32,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 10,322.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 410,962 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $115,896,000 after buying an additional 407,019 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc. operates critical internet infrastructure, best known for managing the domain-name registries for .com and .net. It provides the systems that allow domain names in these extensions to be registered and resolved through the Domain Name System, working with registrars that serve businesses and individuals. The company also provides registry services for other domain extensions and supports the security and stability of the internet’s naming infrastructure. Its services are used globally through a network of registrars and other internet service providers.