Peak Financial Advisors LLC Sells 6,632 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Peak Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 73.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,632 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 452 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 51.5% during 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, WealthCollab LLC raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $251.70 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $208.86 and a one year high of $310.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 0.76.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.40% and a net margin of 49.84%.The firm had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.20, for a total value of $1,241,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 416,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,275,771.80. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,490 shares of company stock worth $2,338,621 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.