AIA Group Ltd Boosts Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd increased its VeriSign stake by 41.2% in the first quarter, ending with 13,701 shares valued at about $3.4 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on VeriSign, with recent price target hikes from firms like Robert W. Baird and Citigroup. The stock now carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $325.25.
• VeriSign’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting $2.34 EPS on $428.9 million in revenue, while management insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 41.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,701 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,001 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 2.0% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, WealthCollab LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 19.1% in the third quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In related news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company's 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 $130,690,172.33. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value of $1,355,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,300 shares of company stock valued at $7,125,942. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VRSN. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on VeriSign in a report on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $325.25.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $277.66 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.71. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48. The company's 50 day moving average is $278.74 and its 200 day moving average is $258.44.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.VeriSign's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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