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

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $333.00.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush raised their target price on VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.16, for a total transaction of $144,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,895 shares in the company, valued at $9,511,918.20. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.40, for a total transaction of $938,520.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 391,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,378,718.80. This trade represents a 0.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,800 shares of company stock valued at $11,001,408. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% during the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.1% in the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of VRSN opened at $288.85 on Friday. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The company has a market capitalization of $26.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.22.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is a global provider of internet infrastructure and domain name registry services. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the systems that support the registration and resolution of millions of internet addresses worldwide.

VeriSign’s services include domain registry operations, Domain Name System (DNS) services, DNS security and stability solutions, and related internet infrastructure. Its systems help domain name registrars, businesses, governments and internet users access websites and online services reliably.