Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,977 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $491,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in VeriSign by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after buying an additional 5,626 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 152.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,922,000 after acquiring an additional 186,029 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 146,100 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,495,000 after acquiring an additional 22,020 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 49,688 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,179,000 after acquiring an additional 11,249 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 174,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $41,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691 shares during the period. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Price Performance

VeriSign stock opened at $277.66 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.35.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.23, for a total value of $67,307.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,010.73. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.09, for a total transaction of $878,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 422,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,513,229.51. The trade was a 0.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of 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. raised their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wedbush started coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.25.

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.