VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. decreased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 24,071 shares during the quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned about 0.11% of VeriSign worth $28,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,116,154,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,150,727 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,044,157,000 after buying an additional 73,583 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 1.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $699,916,000 after acquiring an additional 38,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 48.5% during the first quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 915,012 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $227,252,000 after acquiring an additional 298,895 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.2%

VRSN stock opened at $313.02 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $300.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.48. The company has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 0.66. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $324.63.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.06% and a negative return on equity of 38.40%. The company had revenue of $443.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $440.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 price objective on VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research cut VeriSign from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $352.00.

Insider Activity

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 3,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.89, for a total transaction of $989,465.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,283,231.72. This trade represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.07, for a total transaction of $155,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,579,612.65. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,156 shares of company stock valued at $14,582,030. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. operates critical internet infrastructure, best known for managing the domain-name registries for .com and .net. It provides the systems that allow domain names in these extensions to be registered and resolved through the Domain Name System, working with registrars that serve businesses and individuals. The company also provides registry services for other domain extensions and supports the security and stability of the internet’s naming infrastructure. Its services are used globally through a network of registrars and other internet service providers.