Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $325.25.
VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on VeriSign in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock.
Get Our Latest Analysis on VeriSign
Insider Transactions at VeriSign
Institutional Trading of VeriSign
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,647,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 152.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,922,000 after purchasing an additional 186,029 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in VeriSign by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,495,000 after purchasing an additional 22,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in VeriSign by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,179,000 after acquiring an additional 11,249 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
VeriSign Trading Up 1.2%
VRSN stock traded up $3.38 on Thursday, hitting $273.90. The company had a trading volume of 44,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,708. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.01. The stock has a market cap of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that VeriSign will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.
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.
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