VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Holdings Increased by Inceptionr LLC

Inceptionr LLC lifted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 158.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,445 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,726 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $300,249,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in VeriSign by 8.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,443,710 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,199,318,000 after purchasing an additional 861,065 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 394.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 552,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $154,325,000 after purchasing an additional 440,289 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 496.3% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 352,481 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $101,797,000 after purchasing an additional 293,373 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.28, for a total transaction of $496,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,812,499.72. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,659 shares of company stock worth $5,788,560. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 2.1%

VRSN opened at $243.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $252.12. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This is a boost from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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