Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,285 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 12.3% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 104.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 122.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Up 1.4%

VRSN opened at $276.90 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $272.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 0.70.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total value of $146,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 34,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,100,984.85. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $10,059,796. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $328.75.

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.