Bokf Na Raises Stock Holdings in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Bokf Na boosted its stake in VeriSign by 112.7% in Q4, buying 15,328 shares to hold 28,927 shares worth about $7.03 million at quarter-end.
• Brokerages have been raising ratings and targets—VeriSign's consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $317.67, after upgrades and target increases from firms including Citigroup and Robert W. Baird.
• VeriSign beat quarterly expectations with $2.34 EPS vs. $2.30 est. and $428.9M revenue (up 6.6% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 (annualized $3.24, ~1.2% yield).

Bokf Na boosted its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 112.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,927 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,328 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na's holdings in VeriSign were worth $7,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in VeriSign by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,486 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,033,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $9,308,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in VeriSign by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,124 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in VeriSign by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 18,780 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,563,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in VeriSign in the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRSN. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.67.

VeriSign Stock Down 0.0%

VeriSign stock opened at $275.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.99. The company has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47 and a beta of 0.68. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $310.60.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's payout ratio is 35.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total transaction of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,689.84. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,992 shares of company stock valued at $1,857,748. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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