Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,873 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,477,000.
Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.85, for a total value of $916,905.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 401,389 shares in the company, valued at $111,525,933.65. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total transaction of $146,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,100,984.85. The trade was a 1.43% 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. Insiders sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $10,059,796 in the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
VeriSign Price Performance
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.VeriSign’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.
VeriSign Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.14%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $328.75.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on VRSN
VeriSign 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.
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