Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Invests $62.23 Million in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 222,578 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $62,226,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% during 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 shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VRSN shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.24, for a total value of $36,393.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,213,122.52. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total value of $496,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,812,499.72. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,662 shares of company stock valued at $5,799,697. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $216.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $240.67 and its 200 day moving average is $255.60. The stock has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

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.