VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,424 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,016 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its position in VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded VeriSign from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.67.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,354 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $306.86 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.89. The stock has a market cap of $27.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91 and a beta of 0.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.

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.