Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells 498 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 498 shares on April 14 at an average price of $270.06 for $134,489.88 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, trimming his stake by 1.29% to 38,202 shares valued at about $10.32M.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.81 (from $0.77), representing a $3.24 annualized payout, a 1.2% yield and a 36.78% payout ratio.
• Analysts have become more positive—MarketBeat shows a Moderate Buy consensus with a $297 target, while Citigroup raised its target to $295 and Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign to a buy.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total value of $134,489.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,316,832.12. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $6.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $275.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,054,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 813,980. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $238.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.69. The firm has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The firm had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from VeriSign's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 36.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on VeriSign from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $297.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth about $29,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 239.0% during the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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