VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Receives $292.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $297.00.

VRSN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th.

VeriSign Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of VRSN opened at $259.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.15.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 36.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total value of $1,241,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 416,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,275,771.80. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth $654,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 11.5% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,611 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $99,977,000 after acquiring an additional 36,829 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in VeriSign by 9.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 30.0% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 80,494 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,504,000 after purchasing an additional 18,584 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth about $17,800,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.