Corient Private Wealth LLC Buys 18,492 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LLC more than doubled its VeriSign position in the fourth quarter, buying 18,492 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 35,351 shares valued at about $8.59 million.
• VeriSign recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.34 versus $2.30 expected and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, while analysts remain generally constructive on the stock with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $327.67.

Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 109.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,351 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,492 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC's holdings in VeriSign were worth $8,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSN. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in VeriSign during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 788.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 222 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSN opened at $252.08 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $22.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.85 and a beta of 0.69. The business's 50 day moving average price is $282.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.22. VeriSign, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $208.86 and a fifty-two week high of $312.48.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. VeriSign's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

VeriSign Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total transaction of $1,355,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,538,548.90. The trade was a 12.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D James Bidzos sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $981,651.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 439,339 shares in the company, valued at $130,690,172.33. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,196 shares of company stock valued at $5,559,420. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.67.

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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