Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,294 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 429.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN stock opened at $276.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.41.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The firm had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is 35.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $328.75.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.85, for a total value of $916,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 401,389 shares in the company, valued at $111,525,933.65. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $10,059,796. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign 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.