VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,420,750 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 29,184 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $587,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.67.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $285.38 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The stock has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $274.64 and its 200-day moving average is $252.89.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.