Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases Shares of 2,434 VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,434 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in VeriSign by 159.6% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after buying an additional 5,626 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 14.2% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 85,503 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,904,000 after acquiring an additional 10,637 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,647,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in VeriSign by 152.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $75,922,000 after purchasing an additional 186,029 shares during the period. Finally, Sienna Gestion acquired a new position in VeriSign during the third quarter worth approximately $5,139,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $256.43 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.58.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,746 shares of company stock valued at $6,451,479. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.