VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.81

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.81 per share by the information services provider on Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th.

VeriSign has a dividend payout ratio of 34.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect VeriSign to earn $10.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.9%.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $273.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.08, for a total value of $124,041.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,501,044.20. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,490 shares of company stock worth $626,690. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.