Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC Invests $247,000 in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Key Points

• Fi3 Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in VeriSign, Inc., purchasing 973 shares valued at approximately $247,000 during the 1st quarter.
• VeriSign's CEO, D James Bidzos, sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $284.82, decreasing his holdings by 0.94%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77, representing an annualized dividend of $3.08 with a yield of 1.1%, to be paid on August 27th.

Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 973 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in VeriSign by 35.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign in the 4th quarter valued at $685,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 13,271,457 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,746,661,000 after purchasing an additional 455,844 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of VeriSign by 358.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,017 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,775,000 after purchasing an additional 54,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of VeriSign during the 1st quarter worth $329,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of VRSN traded down $2.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $271.89. The stock had a trading volume of 613,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,081,412. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.49 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $281.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.36.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a negative return on equity of 40.87% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm had revenue of $409.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.11 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information services provider to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised VeriSign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st.

Insider Activity at VeriSign

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.35, for a total value of $562,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 515,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $145,112,452.20. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of VeriSign stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.50, for a total transaction of $135,019.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,043,726. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,505 shares of company stock worth $11,130,549. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

VeriSign Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.