VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) Receives $281.67 Consensus PT from Analysts

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $281.6667.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Zacks Research raised VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $252.08 on Friday. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $185.44 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $258.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.83.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is 35.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Calys sold 1,001 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.71, for a total value of $242,952.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,189.14. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.05, for a total value of $492,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 440,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,499,684.30. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 47,839 shares of company stock valued at $12,660,539 in the last three months. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of VeriSign

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the first quarter worth approximately $641,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 119,368 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $508,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at about $351,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

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.