VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $324.63 and last traded at $322.32, with a volume of 43,378 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $318.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VRSN. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of VeriSign from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $352.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $297.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 0.66.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.11). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 49.06%. The firm had revenue of $443.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $440.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is presently 34.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.38, for a total value of $154,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,395 shares in the company, valued at $9,712,985.10. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 3,256 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.89, for a total value of $989,465.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,283,231.72. This trade represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,856 shares of company stock worth $13,556,803. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 40.5% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) provides internet infrastructure services that support the global domain name system. The company operates the authoritative registry for the .com and .net top-level domains and provides registry services for certain other domains, helping maintain the databases that connect domain names with internet addresses.

The company’s services include domain name registry operations, domain name registration-related support for accredited registrars, and infrastructure designed to improve the availability, stability, and security of internet naming services.