Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Invests $34.36 Million in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in VeriSign during the fourth quarter, purchasing 141,408 shares valued at about $34.36 million. The fund now owns roughly 0.15% of the company.
• VeriSign’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $2.34 versus estimates of $2.30 and revenue of $428.9 million, up 6.6% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average target of $317.67. VeriSign also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, or $3.24 annually, for a 1.1% yield.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased 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 & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 141,408 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $34,357,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned about 0.15% of VeriSign as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 25.3% during the first 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 last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC grew its stake in shares of VeriSign by 5.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 0.8% during the third quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, WealthCollab LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 19.1% during the third quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 312 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.02, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 498 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.78, for a total value of $115,426.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,277,689.84. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,354 over the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised VeriSign from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on VeriSign from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised VeriSign from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on VeriSign from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on VeriSign from $305.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $317.67.

VeriSign Stock Down 3.6%

VeriSign stock opened at $285.38 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.86 and a 52 week high of $312.48. The company has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $274.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $252.89.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 49.95%.The company had revenue of $428.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. VeriSign's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that VeriSign, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

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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