Insider Selling: VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Sells 166 Shares of Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP Thomas Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total transaction of $36,393.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,213,122.52. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

VeriSign Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of VRSN stock traded down $4.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $215.68. 695,758 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 787,263. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.93. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 0.75.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The company had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 36.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mill Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mill Capital Management LLC now owns 66,908 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $16,255,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Inceptionr LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 6,968 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,523 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 64.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,566 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in VeriSign by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 74,143 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $18,013,000 after purchasing an additional 7,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRSN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

About VeriSign

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.