Key Points
- VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares on June 2 in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction, fetching about $981,651 at an average price of $297.47 per share.
- After the sale, Bidzos still directly owned 439,339 shares valued at roughly $130.7 million, and the trade reduced his stake by just 0.75%.
- VeriSign stock was trading around $297.08 and the company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $317.67.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.45, for a total transaction of $146,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,872,615.95. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
VeriSign Stock Down 0.1%
Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $297.08 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $278.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.92. The company has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.83 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 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 firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.67.
View Our Latest Report on VeriSign
About VeriSign
(
Get Free Report)
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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