Stevens Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 6,899 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,899 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,929,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the third quarter worth $29,000. North Capital Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 239.0% during the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in VeriSign by 51.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $215.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 0.75. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $310.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.24.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). The firm 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 last year, the company 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 given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $125,285.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at $7,904,462.63. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,176,274.41. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,662 shares of company stock valued at $5,799,697. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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 restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.