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

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $312.48 and last traded at $310.0870, with a volume of 176771 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $305.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.67.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $28.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $268.68 and its 200-day moving average is $250.91.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,354. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 8.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,318,000 after buying an additional 861,065 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in VeriSign by 8.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after buying an additional 321,737 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $976,700,000 after purchasing an additional 496,674 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $699,916,000 after purchasing an additional 38,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,491,035 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $362,247,000 after purchasing an additional 246,887 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VeriSign

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.