Key Points
- VeriSign CEO D. James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares for approximately $960,597 at an average price of $291.09, reducing his direct ownership by 0.83% to 394,927 shares. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan and follows several similar sales since June.
- VeriSign recently reported quarterly revenue of $434.6 million and earnings of $2.38 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 6% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 1.1% annualized yield.
- Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with the stock receiving an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $333.00. Institutional investors own approximately 92.9% of VeriSign’s outstanding shares.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.78, for a total transaction of $145,390.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,710,598.10. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
VeriSign Trading Up 0.6%
Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $289.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48. The firm's 50-day moving average is $277.46 and its 200 day moving average is $268.19.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.14%.
Institutional Trading of VeriSign
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 30,008.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 34,563,589 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $8,694,816,000 after buying an additional 34,448,791 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,116,154,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 8.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $976,700,000 after purchasing an additional 496,674 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush increased their price objective on VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on VeriSign
VeriSign Company Profile
(
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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