VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Short Interest Down 13.8% in January

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,298,249 shares, a decrease of 13.8% from the January 15th total of 2,665,860 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 663,587 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 663,587 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 434,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,176,274.41. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total value of $125,285.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,904,462.63. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,662 shares of company stock worth $6,291,797 in the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 239.0% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 51.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock traded down $5.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $213.57. The company had a trading volume of 224,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,214. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.48. The company has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released 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). The business had revenue of $425.30 million during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.96%.

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.