Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC initiated a VeriSign position by purchasing 14,785 shares worth approximately $3.7 million in the second quarter. Major institutional investors, including Berkshire Hathaway and BlackRock, also disclosed new stakes, with institutions collectively owning 92.9% of the company.
• VeriSign reported quarterly EPS of $2.38, exceeding estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 6% year over year to $434.6 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 1.1% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $333, compared with the stock’s reported price of $288.37. However, insiders sold 36,000 shares valued at nearly $9.9 million over the past 90 days.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,785 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,719,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in VeriSign during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,261,494,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,116,154,000. State Street Corp raised its position in VeriSign by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,253,980 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,189,285,000 after purchasing an additional 321,737 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,169 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $976,700,000 after purchasing an additional 496,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in VeriSign by 1.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,818,151 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $699,916,000 after purchasing an additional 38,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.35, for a total value of $146,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,551 shares in the company, valued at $10,100,984.85. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.56, for a total transaction of $140,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,752,855.72. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,892,248 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

VeriSign Stock Up 0.0%

VeriSign stock opened at $288.37 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $276.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.69. The stock has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28 and a beta of 0.70. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $208.86 and a 12-month high of $312.48.

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

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. VeriSign's payout ratio is 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of VeriSign from $324.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $333.00.

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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