VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,642 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,135 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $2,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 0.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,582,645 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,056,268,000 after acquiring an additional 68,355 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in VeriSign by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,932,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,135,632,000 after purchasing an additional 73,931 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,003 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $894,414,000 after purchasing an additional 767,363 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,326,799 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $670,685,000 after purchasing an additional 44,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign by 71.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,202,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $307,098,000 after buying an additional 500,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total transaction of $125,285.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,904,462.63. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.25, for a total value of $488,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 423,099 shares in the company, valued at $103,341,930.75. This trade represents a 0.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 47,839 shares of company stock worth $12,042,404 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price target on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSN opened at $246.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $247.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.38. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.93 and a 1-year high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. VeriSign’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.07 EPS.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.90%.

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.