Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells 501 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 501 shares of stock at an average price of $270.87, reducing his ownership by 1.42% and bringing his total shares owned to 34,690.
• The company announced a $1.11 billion stock repurchase program that allows it to buy back up to 4.1% of its shares, signaling confidence from the Board of Directors in the stock's value.
• VeriSign recently declared a **quarterly dividend** of $0.77, translating to an annual yield of 1.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 36.75%.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.87, for a total value of $135,705.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 34,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,396,480.30. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded down $2.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $267.88. 578,753 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 849,132. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97 and a beta of 0.79. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $310.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $275.66 and its 200 day moving average is $273.47.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%.The company had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information services provider to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 13,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $277.50.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.

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