VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Stock Holdings Lessened by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 69.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,298 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,930 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRSN. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC grew its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total transaction of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 26,798 shares of company stock valued at $7,260,432. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $270.11. The stock had a trading volume of 369,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 802,014. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

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.