Entropy Technologies LP Makes New $5.68 Million Investment in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP opened a new position in VeriSign during the fourth quarter, buying 23,393 shares valued at about $5.68 million.
• VeriSign’s latest quarterly results beat estimates, 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, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $317.67.

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,393 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,683,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in VeriSign by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 872 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.54, for a total value of $141,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,363,670.54. This trade represents a 1.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,596 shares of company stock valued at $3,834,345. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN opened at $279.89 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 1 year low of $208.86 and a 1 year high of $312.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.68. The firm has a market cap of $25.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.69.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.95% and a negative return on equity of 39.98%. The business had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.67.

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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