VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $292.00.

VRSN has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $248.36 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.60 and a 200-day moving average of $248.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders 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 1.3%. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $79,885.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,696 shares in the company, valued at $9,551,651.52. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 429.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, North Capital Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 239.0% in the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.