VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $283.63 and last traded at $279.70, with a volume of 1239454 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $282.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

VeriSign Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.28. The firm has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.51 and a beta of 0.80.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.47% and a negative return on equity of 43.01%. The business had revenue of $402.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. The business’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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, SVP John Calys sold 447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,500,586.25. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trust Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Parcion Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter worth about $439,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 130.3% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 304 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 9.2% in the first quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in 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.