VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Wedbush

Wedbush began coverage on shares of VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $318.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock.

VRSN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.25.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $277.66 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $278.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.35. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The firm has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in VeriSign by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,647,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 152.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,922,000 after purchasing an additional 186,029 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,495,000 after purchasing an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,179,000 after purchasing an additional 11,249 shares during 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.