Key Points
- EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign at an average price of $252.62 on Dec. 2 for $126,562.62, leaving him with 32,110 shares (a 1.54% reduction in his stake).
- VeriSign slightly beat Q3 expectations with $2.27 EPS (vs. $2.25 est.) and $419.1M revenue (up 7.3% YoY), and recently paid a $0.77 quarterly dividend for a 1.2% yield.
- The stock (market cap ~$23.2B, P/E ~29.1) carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $281.67 target, and institutional investors own roughly 92.9% of the shares.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.62, for a total value of $126,562.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,111,628.20. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.
VeriSign Stock Down 1.5%
VeriSign stock opened at $249.94 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $185.44 and a 12-month high of $310.60.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 35.90%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
VRSN has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $281.67.
View Our Latest Report on VeriSign
Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign
Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,199,318,000 after buying an additional 861,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in VeriSign by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,189,285,000 after acquiring an additional 321,737 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 13.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,495 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $985,063,000 after purchasing an additional 426,492 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,326,799 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $670,685,000 after purchasing an additional 44,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in VeriSign by 71.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $307,098,000 after purchasing an additional 500,223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.
VeriSign Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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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