Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $145,390.00 in Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign EVP Thomas Indelicato sold 500 shares at an average price of $290.78, generating $145,390. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan and reduced his ownership by 1.48%.
• VeriSign recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.38 in EPS and $434.6 million in revenue, with revenue up 6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $333, compared with its recent trading price near $290.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.78, for a total transaction of $145,390.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,710,598.10. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN traded up $1.59 on Wednesday, reaching $289.96. 766,931 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,794. The company has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $276.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $41,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 208.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,385 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 9,046 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in VeriSign by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,352 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,973,000 after purchasing an additional 5,267 shares during the period. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,636,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 454,292 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $110,370,000 after purchasing an additional 130,683 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.00.

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.

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