Florida Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $1.20 Million Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Florida Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,278 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,196,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 112.5% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 102 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. North Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 239.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 139 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VeriSign news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.07, for a total value of $125,285.07. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,904,462.63. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.59, for a total transaction of $1,222,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 434,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,176,274.41. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,662 shares of company stock worth $7,542,047. Company insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $219.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.05. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $310.60.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The company had revenue of $425.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 34.96%.

VeriSign Company 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.