VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give VeriSign a consensus rating of "Hold" (three holds, two buys) with an average 1‑year price target of $292.
• In the most recent quarter VeriSign missed EPS by $0.06 ($2.23 vs. $2.29) but posted revenue of $425.3M (slightly above estimates) and revenue growth of 7.6% year‑over‑year with a ~49.8% net margin.
• VeriSign increased its quarterly dividend to $0.81 (annualized $3.24, ~1.3% yield, DPR ~36.8%), while insiders sold about 9,490 shares over the last three months and institutional investors own roughly 92.9% of the stock.

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $292.00.

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

VeriSign Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $250.80 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $235.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.34. VeriSign has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The company had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from VeriSign's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.78%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total transaction of $1,241,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 416,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,275,771.80. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,490 shares of company stock valued at $2,338,621. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% in the third quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management raised its holdings in VeriSign by 11.6% in the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company's stock.

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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