VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stake Lowered by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 34.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,970 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,820 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $5,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the first quarter valued at $207,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in VeriSign by 51.7% during the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,441 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 208.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 9,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 4.4% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 8,325 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 26,798 shares of company stock worth $7,260,432 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.0%

VRSN stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $270.11. 369,654 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 802,014. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $279.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.41. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.67.

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.