VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $290.91 and last traded at $290.56, with a volume of 296281 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $286.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday.

VeriSign Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $281.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.82.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 50.23%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $145,375.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,270 shares in the company, valued at $11,104,805.90. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.79, for a total value of $170,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,059,955.65. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,004 shares of company stock worth $9,305,492 over the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in VeriSign by 56.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 13,000.0% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 131 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in VeriSign by 106.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 159 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.