Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 20,040 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates cut its VeriSign stake by 60.3%, selling 20,040 shares and retaining 13,215 shares valued at approximately $3.32 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of VRSN.
• VeriSign reported quarterly EPS of $2.38, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 6% year over year to $434.6 million. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81, representing a 1.1% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.75, compared with the stock’s reported price of $291.93.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 60.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,215 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 20,040 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in VeriSign were worth $3,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 104.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 122.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,358 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in VeriSign by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,346 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $291.93 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The company's fifty day moving average is $275.06 and its 200-day moving average is $266.37. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66 and a beta of 0.70.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is 35.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wedbush upped their price objective on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $328.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 439,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 39,800 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,624 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

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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