Versor Investments LP Lowers Stake in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Versor Investments LP decreased its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 82.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 896 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,201 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. North Capital Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 239.0% during the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRSN. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.00.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total value of $125,285.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,904,462.63. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares in the company, valued at $106,176,274.41. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,662 shares of company stock worth $7,542,047 over the last quarter. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of VRSN opened at $219.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.90. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.96%.

About VeriSign

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.