Key Points
- EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 VeriSign shares for $155,035 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his ownership by 1.59% to 30,895 shares.
- In its latest quarter, VeriSign reported EPS of $2.35, below the $2.46 consensus, while revenue of $443 million topped estimates and rose 5.7% year over year.
- VeriSign announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $352.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.07, for a total value of $155,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,579,612.65. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
VeriSign Stock Up 1.7%
NASDAQ VRSN opened at $311.11 on Wednesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $324.63. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $298.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.54. The firm has a market cap of $27.91 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45 and a beta of 0.66.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $440.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.27 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. VeriSign's payout ratio is 34.84%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in VeriSign by 208.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,385 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,324,000 after buying an additional 9,046 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $2,116,154,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $944,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 16.1% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 237,966 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $59,272,000 after acquiring an additional 33,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 202.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,983 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 6,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of VeriSign from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $352.00.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on VRSN
VeriSign Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
VeriSign, Inc. operates critical internet infrastructure, best known for managing the domain-name registries for .com and .net. It provides the systems that allow domain names in these extensions to be registered and resolved through the Domain Name System, working with registrars that serve businesses and individuals. The company also provides registry services for other domain extensions and supports the security and stability of the internet's naming infrastructure. Its services are used globally through a network of registrars and other internet service providers.
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