Cibc World Market Inc. Makes New $2.51 Million Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Cibc World Market Inc. purchased 9,964 VeriSign shares worth approximately $2.51 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.9% of the company.
• VeriSign exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.38 in EPS and $434.6 million in revenue, up 6% year over year. Analysts maintain an average “Buy” rating with a $328.75 price target.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, or $3.24 annualized, representing a 1.1% yield. CEO D. James Bidzos also sold 3,300 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,964 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,507,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of VeriSign in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in VeriSign by 788.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,690,172.33. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 39,800 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,624 in the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $292.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $273.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.69. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $312.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRSN. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $318.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $328.75.

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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