PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 31.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,723 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 48.6% during the 1st quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,461 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,330,000 after acquiring an additional 7,020 shares in the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 22.6% in the first quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.5% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,885 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 6.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 410,773 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $102,029,000 after purchasing an additional 26,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,418 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $281.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $275.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.86.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The company had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. VeriSign’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 25,100 shares of company stock valued at $6,803,294 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush boosted their price target on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.75.

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.