KBC Group NV Sells 66,859 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 72.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,871 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 66,859 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $6,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,300 shares of company stock worth $7,125,942. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $262.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $277.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.96.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on VeriSign in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.25.

About VeriSign

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.