Danny Mcpherson Sells 5,000 Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

Key Points

• Executive sale: VeriSign EVP Danny McPherson sold 5,000 shares on April 28 at an average price of $271.02 for $1,355,100, trimming his holding to 35,195 shares (a 12.44% reduction).
• Quarterly results and dividend: VeriSign beat estimates with Q EPS of $2.34 and revenue of $428.9M (up 6.6% YoY) and declared a $0.81 quarterly dividend ($3.24 annual, ~1.2% yield).
• Analyst sentiment: Multiple upgrades leave the stock with a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of $317.67, while shares trade near $272 with a market cap around $24.8B.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Danny Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $2.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $272.60. 454,673 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 824,056. The company's 50 day moving average is $248.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.72. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $24.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.28 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.67.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.