Callan Family Office LLC Takes Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Callan Family Office LLC acquired 3,751 VeriSign shares worth approximately $944,000 in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of the company.
• VeriSign reported quarterly earnings of $2.38 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 6% year over year to $434.6 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding about 1.1% annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $328.75, although insiders sold 36,500 shares worth roughly $10.1 million over the past three months.

Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,751 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $944,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OneAscent Family Office LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth $203,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter worth about $1,110,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in VeriSign in the second quarter worth about $1,150,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at about $568,000. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in VeriSign in the second quarter valued at about $315,000. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $290.79 on Tuesday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $272.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.96.

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

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 35.14%.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total transaction of $146,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 34,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,100,984.85. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Calys sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,752,855.72. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $10,059,796 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRSN. Wedbush boosted their price target on VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of 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 given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $328.75.

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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