Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 16,791 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates Inc. reduced its VeriSign stake by 33.6% in the first quarter, selling 16,791 shares and leaving it with 33,255 shares valued at about $8.26 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on VRSN, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $327.67. Recent target increases came from JPMorgan, Robert W. Baird, and Citigroup.
• VeriSign reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share for a 1.3% annualized yield.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. cut its holdings in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,255 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 16,791 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $8,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSN. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in VeriSign by 159.6% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 9,150 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,223,000 after buying an additional 5,626 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in VeriSign during the third quarter worth $26,647,000. Vestcor Inc boosted its position in VeriSign by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 85,503 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $23,904,000 after acquiring an additional 10,637 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in VeriSign by 152.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 308,091 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $75,922,000 after acquiring an additional 186,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sienna Gestion bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,139,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.67.

VeriSign Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of VRSN opened at $255.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.86 and a twelve month high of $312.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $281.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.23.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 35.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,538,548.90. This represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 20,196 shares of company stock worth $5,559,420 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

VeriSign Company 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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