Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN – Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,628 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,000.
Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.8% during the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 1,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.1% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.3% in the second quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 6.1% in the first quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 802 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 19.0% in the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
VeriSign Stock Down 1.1%
VRSN stock traded down $3.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $308.67. 1,020,299 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,007,995. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19 and a beta of 0.66. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $324.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.97.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $440.58 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 49.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
VeriSign Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th 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 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 34.84%.
Insider Activity at VeriSign
In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 3,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.89, for a total value of $989,465.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,283,231.72. The trade was a 9.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO D. Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.99, for a total transaction of $1,029,567.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 365,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,947,171.73. The trade was a 0.90% 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 have sold a total of 45,856 shares of company stock valued at $13,556,803 over the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
VRSN has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush raised their price target on VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $352.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on VeriSign
VeriSign Company Profile
VeriSign, Inc operates critical internet infrastructure, best known for managing the domain-name registries for .com and .net. It provides the systems that allow domain names in these extensions to be registered and resolved through the Domain Name System, working with registrars that serve businesses and individuals.
The company also provides registry services for other domain extensions and supports the security and stability of the internet’s naming infrastructure. Its services are used globally through a network of registrars and other internet service providers.
Founded in 1995, VeriSign began as a provider of digital certificate services before focusing its business on domain-name registry operations.
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