Key Points
- VeriSign EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 250 shares on July 8 at an average price of $269.23, totaling about $67,308. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and his ownership fell by 0.69% to 36,051 shares.
- VeriSign recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.34 versus the $2.30 estimate and revenue of $428.9 million versus $424.5 million expected. Revenue rose 6.6% year over year, and analysts currently forecast full-year EPS of 9.47.
- The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equal to a $3.24 annualized payout and a 1.2% yield. Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding about 92.9% of the stock.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 36,051 shares in the company, valued at $9,706,010.73. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
VeriSign Stock Performance
VRSN opened at $269.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average is $279.27 and its 200 day moving average is $257.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the third quarter valued at $26,647,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 152.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $75,922,000 after purchasing an additional 186,029 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in VeriSign by 1.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 675,608 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $188,880,000 after purchasing an additional 11,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in VeriSign by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,495,000 after purchasing an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $327.67.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on VRSN
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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