Abacus FCF Advisors LLC Takes Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Abacus FCF Advisors purchased 27,992 VeriSign shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $7.04 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.9% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $328.75; recent firms raised their targets to between $316 and $355.
• VeriSign exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.38 in EPS and $434.6 million in revenue, up 6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,992 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,042,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,116,154,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,900,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,686,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $145,362,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in VeriSign during the second quarter valued at approximately $126,420,000. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 36,500 shares of company stock worth $10,059,796 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.75.

VeriSign Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $273.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The business's fifty day moving average price is $272.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.18.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $434.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $433.19 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a net margin of 49.76%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

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

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.

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