VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 716,310 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 5% from the previous session's volume of 750,439 shares.The stock last traded at $278.82 and had previously closed at $281.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $26.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.96 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $254.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.36.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The company had revenue of $402.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, Director Yehuda Ari Buchalter sold 600 shares of the business'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 now directly owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,059,955.65. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,500,586.25. This trade represents a 1.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,447 shares of company stock valued at $386,654 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at about $282,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 118.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,285 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $55,924,000 after buying an additional 119,368 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at about $1,180,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 6.6% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 10,796 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,741,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.