VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Trading 7.9% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) rose 7.9% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $267.75 and last traded at $272.61. Approximately 201,131 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 747,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.59.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on VeriSign from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

VeriSign Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $244.99 and its 200-day moving average is $215.32. The firm has a market cap of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89 and a beta of 0.87.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.75, for a total transaction of $103,592.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,735 shares in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,746,661,000 after acquiring an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,701,154 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $352,071,000 after buying an additional 35,326 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,130 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $273,853,000 after purchasing an additional 229,311 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,759 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $265,894,000 after buying an additional 116,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,097,129 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $227,062,000 after buying an additional 403,760 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Company Profile

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.