VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares at an average price of $292.20, generating $146,100. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, leaving him with 35,051 shares.
• VeriSign shares rose 0.1% to $299.20, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $2.38 per share and revenue of $434.6 million, both slightly above analyst expectations. Revenue increased 6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and a $328.75 price target. VeriSign also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annual yield.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.20, for a total transaction of $146,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,241,902.20. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of VeriSign stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $299.20. The stock had a trading volume of 821,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,235. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.10. The company has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The firm had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in VeriSign by 788.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in VeriSign by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $328.75.

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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