VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $282.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRSN. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $249.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.44. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $205.37 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08 and a beta of 0.77.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.71 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

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 dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.71, for a total transaction of $123,857.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,613,759.23. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,812,499.72. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 47,833 shares of company stock worth $11,901,878 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 56.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors 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.