Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Has $27,000 Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 98.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 98 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,596 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 97 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,769,033.99. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.05, for a total transaction of $1,250,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 442,966 shares in the company, valued at $110,763,648.30. This represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 47,338 shares of company stock valued at $11,906,698 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $239.25 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.37 and a twelve month high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.65.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.66% and a net margin of 49.86%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRSN. Zacks Research downgraded VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $281.67.

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.