VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells $155,035.00 in Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.07, for a total value of $155,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,895 shares in the company, valued at $9,579,612.65. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $312.48 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $299.82 and its 200 day moving average is $274.16. The company has a market capitalization of $28.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56 and a beta of 0.66. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $324.63.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.11). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 49.06%. The company had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $440.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,116,154,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,150,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,044,157,000 after buying an additional 73,583 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 33,723.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,770,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $781,311,000 after buying an additional 2,762,317 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $699,916,000 after buying an additional 38,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 target price on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush boosted their target price on VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut VeriSign from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $352.00.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc. operates critical internet infrastructure, best known for managing the domain-name registries for .com and .net. It provides the systems that allow domain names in these extensions to be registered and resolved through the Domain Name System, working with registrars that serve businesses and individuals. The company also provides registry services for other domain extensions and supports the security and stability of the internet’s naming infrastructure. Its services are used globally through a network of registrars and other internet service providers.