John Calys Sells 1,001 Shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Stock

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) EVP John Calys sold 1,001 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.71, for a total transaction of $242,952.71. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,003,189.14. This represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

VeriSign Stock Up 2.3%

VRSN traded up $5.68 during trading on Monday, reaching $247.65. 740,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 869,886. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $267.73 and its 200 day moving average is $274.73. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.62 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The company had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.90%.

VeriSign declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 112.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.67.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.