VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Receives $281.67 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $281.6667.

Several research analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.25, for a total transaction of $488,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 423,099 shares in the company, valued at $103,341,930.75. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 31,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,904,462.63. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,839 shares of company stock valued at $12,042,404. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in VeriSign by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,712 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Tevis Investment Management bought a new position in VeriSign in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,561,000. Finally, Investment Research Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth $427,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $244.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $249.16 and a 200-day moving average of $268.60. The company has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.44 and a beta of 0.78. VeriSign has a fifty-two week low of $193.95 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

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.