VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $141,282.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.00, for a total value of $141,282.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,200,758. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $270.32. 1,539,205 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 759,558. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.58 and a 12 month high of $288.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $263.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79 and a beta of 0.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. The business had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.44 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 43.01% and a net margin of 50.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 570 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in VeriSign by 206.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 53,527 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,077,000 after purchasing an additional 36,032 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 36,698 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,595,000 after purchasing an additional 3,408 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in VeriSign by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 38,500 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $7,968,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.