VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 52.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 14,575 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% in the third 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 VeriSign during the third quarter worth $29,000. North Capital Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 239.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 147 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $227.94 on Monday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $310.60. The stock has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $237.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.25.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.00.

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.