Analysts Set VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Price Target at $292.00

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $292.00.

Several research firms have commented on VRSN. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,659 shares of company stock worth $5,788,560. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 104.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in VeriSign by 122.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $243.78 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.37. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The business had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.78%.

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.