VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,990 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 7,039 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $15,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 159.6% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 5,626 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the third quarter worth about $26,647,000. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 14.2% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 85,503 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,904,000 after acquiring an additional 10,637 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion purchased a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth about $5,139,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in VeriSign by 152.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,922,000 after purchasing an additional 186,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.83, for a total value of $63,957.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,301 shares in the company, valued at $9,286,884.83. This represents a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,746 shares of company stock worth $6,451,479. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $256.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.58. The stock has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.80%.

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.