VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto Sells 250 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• VeriSign EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 250 shares on July 8 at an average price of $269.23, totaling about $67,307.50. After the pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 sale, he still held 36,051 shares.
• VRSN shares rose 0.9% to $269.98, with the stock trading below its 50-day average but above its 200-day average. The company has a market value of about $24.57 billion and a 12-month trading range of $208.86 to $312.48.
• VeriSign recently beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $2.34 EPS versus $2.30 expected and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $327.67.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total transaction of $67,307.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,051 shares in the company, valued at $9,706,010.73. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $2.40 on Thursday, reaching $269.98. 796,446 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 829,233. The company has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $279.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.14.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 2.1% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Citigroup increased their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $327.67.

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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