VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Position Reduced by Fundsmith LLP

Fundsmith LLP reduced its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 50.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,713 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 57,754 shares during the quarter. Fundsmith LLP’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $14,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $291.93 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $275.06 and its 200-day moving average is $266.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 35.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,800 shares of company stock worth $11,020,624. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.