Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells 500 Shares

Key Points

• VeriSign EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares at an average price of $289.16, totaling $144,580, under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. He retained 32,895 shares after the sale.
• VeriSign shares rose 1.7% to $286.94, with the company valued at approximately $25.91 billion. The stock trades above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while analysts maintain an average “Buy” rating with a consensus price target of $333.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.16, for a total value of $144,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,511,918.20. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.7%

VRSN traded up $4.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $286.94. 743,914 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 814,106. The company's fifty day moving average price is $280.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12 and a beta of 0.70. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 47.5% in the 4th 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. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 208.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,385 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,324,000 after acquiring an additional 9,046 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth $2,116,154,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in VeriSign by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 454,292 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $110,370,000 after acquiring an additional 130,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $944,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average 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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