VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.38, for a total value of $154,690.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,395 shares in the company, valued at $9,712,985.10. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
VeriSign Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $313.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.95 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $296.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.01. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $317.41.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.06% and a negative return on equity of 38.40%. The firm had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $440.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 34.84%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter worth $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth $2,116,154,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $172,641,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $145,362,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at $126,420,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have commented on VRSN. Citigroup raised their price objective on VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $352.00.
Get Our Latest Report on VeriSign
About VeriSign
(
Get Free Report)
VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) provides internet infrastructure services that support the global domain name system. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains and provides registry services for certain other domains, helping maintain the databases that connect domain names with internet addresses.
The company's services include domain name registry operations, domain name registration-related support for accredited registrars, and infrastructure designed to improve the availability, stability, and security of internet naming services.
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