Allstate Corp Purchases 3,644 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in VeriSign by 111% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,644 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 6,926 shares worth about $1.68 million.
• VeriSign reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $2.34 and revenue of $428.9 million, both slightly ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue rose 6.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $317.67. VeriSign also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equal to a 1.1% annualized yield.

Allstate Corp raised its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 111.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,926 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,644 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in VeriSign were worth $1,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in VeriSign in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.06, for a total transaction of $134,489.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,316,832.12. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,821,354. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.67.

VeriSign Price Performance

VRSN opened at $296.14 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1-year low of $208.86 and a 1-year high of $312.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.66. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72 and a beta of 0.68.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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