Key Points
- CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 VeriSign shares at an average price of $270.44, generating $892,452. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, leaving him with 416,239 shares.
- VeriSign exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.38 in EPS and $434.6 million in revenue, with revenue up 6% year over year.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to a $3.24 annualized payout and a 1.2% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $328.75.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,551 shares in the company, valued at $9,954,280. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
VeriSign Price Performance
Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $281.15 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $275.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.86. The company has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49 and a beta of 0.71.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Four 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.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.75.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on VeriSign
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.
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.
Featured Stories
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
