Hilltop Holdings Inc. Makes New $2.24 Million Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,004 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 0.8% during the third quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its position in VeriSign by 11.6% during the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 51.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 19.1% in the third quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $79,885.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,551,651.52. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,490 shares of company stock worth $2,827,121. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $241.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $236.31 and a 200 day moving average of $250.78. The firm has a market cap of $22.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 0.76. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The company had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 36.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

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.